


Rules of Engagement

by TaraHarkon, Waywardwitchcat



Series: Incorporeal [7]
Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Domestic Fluff, Emotional Manipulation, F/F, F/M, Kidnapping, M/M, Near Death Experiences, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Rimming, child endangerment, soft D/s
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-03
Updated: 2018-10-16
Packaged: 2019-07-24 15:54:04
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 65,024
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16178315
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TaraHarkon/pseuds/TaraHarkon, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Waywardwitchcat/pseuds/Waywardwitchcat
Summary: With a science conference coming up, it seems like everyone has a plan for how their trip to Boston will go. But you know what they say about plans. They never survive first contact with the enemy.





	1. Chapter 1

Davenport glanced down at his tablet, tapping his stylus on the side, then up again at his crew,    
  
“So turn in your paperwork for room reimbursement to Ren by the third of next year. Lup, Barry, you’ve got an extra allotment since Keats was requested, but  _ please _ don’t make things difficult for her....”   
He tapped another tab and nodded.   
“Check your emails for the schedule of who comes in to check the delicate projects....- I think that’s it, Happy Candlenights everyone.”

Barry looked over the forms in his hand and then up at Davenport. He licked his lips, trying to line the words up in his head.   
  
"Captain, I just uh... I just wanted to make sure that... I mean, I know that Carey and Killian have been making a big deal out of finally convincing Noelle to present on  _ something, _ but uh... You  _ do _ want me to present something I'm working on, right? And not just model the harness, right? I don't... I mean, I don't mind helping her out. It's the least I can do after everything she helped with but uh... but I'd really prefer to also present my own work. If... if that's uh... if that's alright with you."   
  
And then he waited, trying to stuff the anxiety back down.

Davenport blinked at him, puzzled, and nodded slowly,    
  
“Did I not... Barry, you have way more on astral physics and material plane interactions than she does. The scheduling might be a bit awkward, since we want to make sure you’re after her, but you  _ do _ have a slot.”   
  
“What our illustrious leader is  _ not _ saying,” Taako drawled from his workstation where he was carefully powering down a portable spell circle, “-is that there’s no way in any hell named he’d let us get shown up, even by a friend.”   
  
Davenport’s mustache twitched, “the IPRE crew has made an excellent showing every time we attend the Applied Science and Magic Conference and I would hate for that streak to break....”

For a brief moment, Barry just looked stunned. Then he smiled a little and looked down. Sometimes he forgot how different this lab was from the one he had once worked in and then moments like this happened and he was just so very grateful for how things had worked out in the end.   
  
"That uh... that makes sense. Thanks." Then he smiled. "Maybe I can steal Julia from them for a while, since I can't take my harness off and all."   
  
With that, he went back to his own workstation to carefully shutdown a short term experiment he'd been working on with developing spell circles that could make other things as non-physical as he could be at times. It was a long term plan to make interacting with the world when he didn't have his harness on easier, and also to make it easier to get the harness back on. But it also raised some important questions about the Heisenberg uncertainty principle and its interactions with the arcane.

“Probably a good plan, since I doubt Keats will love the idea of taking his harness off all that much beyond what Noelle asks.....” Lup was glancing through the forms on her work computer, tapping a fingernail against her teeth, “Hey, Cap’nport, if weeeee go  _ over _ this allotment, but make up the difference, that’s  _ cool _ right?”   
  
Davenport waved a hand at her, as he shut his office door, “ _ Please _ ask Ren about that, please? I’m on vacation now,  _ good  _ bye!”   
  
Lup laughed and waved, echoing the various calls of ‘Happy Candlenights!’ that followed Davenport.    
Looking over at Barry, she grinned, “I’ve been looking at the option for the hotel and I gotta say, I have some  _ plans _ , babe....”

Barry packed away the crystal that had been anchoring his spell work and went to lean over her shoulder.   
  
"Oh yeah?" He kissed her cheek. "These uh... these plans you wanna talk about here or at home?"   
  
Taako made an absolutely disgusted noise and slammed one of his desk drawers closed. "Happy  _ fucking _ Candlenights, I do not need to know any more about your sex life than I already do!"   
  
And with that, he turned and strode towards the door.

Lup blew a kiss after him, “Happy Candlenights, Munch! See you on Long Night!”    
  
Grinning, she pulled up a tab for the conference hotel, “they have two room suites, kitchenette included so we don’t have to depend on shitty hotel coffee and hope there’s free eggs.”

Barry's eyes lit up. "You mean we can bring the  _ good _ coffee? Oh fuck yes. And the boys get their own room. Music to my ears."   
  
He skimmed the website and then nodded a little. "We can work that out with Ren, I bet... And uh... and I'm gonna make sure we get a day in the travel schedule so we can take the boys to see some historic stuff. I don't know that Keats'll care but I bet I can find something Angus will like."

“We can probably just get a later flight on Monday... wander some of the museums there, though we’d have to have a place to stash our stuff, hmmm...”   
  
Lup clicked a few more options, then blinked, shaking her head, “right, we should do this at home.”    
  
Leaning over to shut down her magical energy conversion battery down, Lup turned off her computer and started gathering her coat,    
  
“Did you remember to put your requests into the grocery app, babe? I’m going out tomorrow and I  _ really _ don’t want to have to make that trip for last minute stuff after that....”

"Probably?" He pulled out his phone as he reached for his coat, and skimmed through. "Uh... nope... I'll do that before we get going. Sorry, babe."   
  
Barry was still learning to keep up with all the apps and chats and messages and things he constantly seemed to have to deal with. There was just so much. He followed along behind her, humming to himself. They'd taken one car today since his was very much in the garage and far, far away from the mere concept of snow and road salt.   
  
"Shouldn't be too much, anyway..."

Lup kissed his cheek and stopped by Ren’s desk, smiling widely,    
  
“ _ Ren _ , hell _ o _ gorgeous, I was  _ just _ wondering-“   
  
“As long as y’all turn everything in by the deadline, you will be reimbursed up to the stated limit and anything else is your responsibility,” Ren was cleaning her desk and switching off her computer with quiet efficiency, coat already on. She looked at Lup’s surprised face and grinned, “Cap’nport mentioned. Y’all have a lovely holiday, hear?”    
  
Lup reached over and gave her a fast hug, “you too! I’d say come over for Long Night, but-“   
  
Ren shrugged, “time for family and all that. I’ll see y’all in the new year.”    
  
Another chorus of goodbyes and they were out in the cold. Lup’s ears flicked back as they stepped out of the heated building and she looked grumpy as she unlocked her car.

Barry shrugged a little at the cold as they walked towards the car, internally considering whether or not he should admit to Lup that his coat was entirely for show. One of the stranger perks to being a popsicle boy year round was that he didn't really feel the cold any more. That and he didn't have enough body temperature to keep the inside of the coat warm. Instead, he shoved his hands in his pockets and walked along beside her.    
  
"I've decided that uh... that winter is oppression mostly because I can't hold your hand right now. Thought you should know."

“ _ Entirely _ true,” Lup took her glove off to touch to the windshield, sending a careful pulse of heat along it as she turned the car on. The accumulated snow there started melting and she turned on her defroster to keep up.    
  
Leaning back in her seat she blew into her hands, tugging warmth from wherever she could yank it.

Barry dropped into his seat, pulling his phone out again to finish adding things to the grocery list. He'd been getting better about his absolute sugar addiction, requesting a lot more fruit along with the awful, sugary things he enjoyed so much. Then he skimmed to see what the boys had added and chuckled at Keats' list. It was a mess of fruit and protein bars and a very specific fat content of milk and the entire contents of a recipe for some kind of healthy smoothie.   
  
"So uh... is Keats planning on running a marathon or is he just trying to impress Savannah? Because if it's the second one, one of us is gonna have to have a talk with him.  _ Either _ about how hard it's gonna be for him to uh... to change his physical form  _ or _ about not doing stupid diets to impress girls. One of those. Maybe both."

Lup blew a raspberry and put the car into reverse,    
“ _ Definitely _ both. Also if he thinks I’m buying expensive milk when we’re  _ still _ not using up what we have unless we turn it into cheese, and it’s  _ winter _ , he’s got another think coming....”   
  
It was the early dark of winter, and Lup hated it... but less so with Barry in the car to talk to as the road turned from the nicely plowed urban streets to the occasionally plowed winding road to the house. At least it wasn’t  _ currently _ snowing, and the trees were looking picturesque as her headlights poured over them.    
  
Still, she was glad when they turned down their driveway and she could park and feel the slightly warmer air under the wards. Just a few degrees, but it made enough of a difference.    
  
The lights along the roof were lit up and she grinned at the menorah still shining in Angus’s window.

"Cool cool, that's what I figured. You wanna do that or should I?"   
  
He tapped the done button on the list he'd made and tucked his phone away again. He closed his eyes as they passed back under the wards, letting the last bit of tension from being outside slide off him. The portable anchor for him had been tested a few times just in case he ever needed it but that still didn't mean he  _ liked _ it. He was going to have to use it at the conference, but that was a problem for future Barry. First, he had to make it through Candlenights and Long Night with kids. Which brought to mind a conundrum. What the  _ hell _ was he going to get Lup this year?

Lup burst into the house, covered in pine boughs and tacky decorations, the bush spilling light throughout the living room and into the library, there was a fire in the fireplace bless Keats, and Tess came streaking out of the kitchen, yelling.    
  
“Hel _ lo _ Miss Thing!” Lup scooped Tess up and cuddled her, pressing cold nose into her fuzzy belly, “missed you too but I’m not feeding you again!”

Barry hung his coat by the door and then grinned to himself, creeping up behind Lup. He wrapped his arms around her, sliding his freezing cold hands under her shirt so they were resting on her stomach, kissing her cheek at the same time.

There was a duet of shrieks as Lup levitated and Tess twisted and landed on the floor, streaking into the library. Angus poked his head out and rolled his eyes,    
  
“Keats made dinner, should I tell him Dad is fuckin’ dead again?”

Barry was laughing as he pulled back, half expecting her to come after him, even if playfully. Then he turned towards Angus.   
  
"Pretty sure I'm still uh... still the same level of dead there, kiddo. But nice try. What'd he make?"   
  
Keats was in the kitchen, ears flicked straight up as he stared at the instructions on his tablet and then back at the pie plate in the oven and then at the timer. And alright, maybe he should've tried an easier one the first time, or maybe one where the instructions were in  _ English _ instead of floundering through the French he hadn't actively spoken in years.  _ But _ it looked like the eggs were cooking right and the crust was probably browning alright... He heard the shriek and jumped, nearly hitting his head on one of the cabinets. Then he stuck his head out into the living room.   
  
"Quiche lorraine doesn't have cheese in it!" And then he disappeared again.

Lup had turned, aiming for Barry’s  _ especially _ ticklish spots above his ribs and muttering something in German about how he’d especially regret that  _ later _ , when she caught Keats’ statement and her ears flicked up.    
  
“Is  _ that _ what I’m smelling? Hey, did you use-“   
  
Distracted, she headed for the kitchen, and Angus picked up Tess who needed to be soothed,    
  
“I hope he’s nearly done, he was nervous enough without Mom hovering.”

Barry followed Angus, giving Tess a scratch behind the ear as an apology.    
  
"I'm sure he's doing alright. It's not like he's gotta impress Taako or something." Then he went to sit on the couch. "Have fun at home today, bud?"

Angus pushed a blanket at him before tucking himself against Barry’s side, tilting his head as the voices in the kitchen got more tense,   
  
“Yeah! I got all my homework done so I don’t have to care about it and we watched Queer Eye and Mom should know the furnace made that noise again-“   
  
“ _ It did what? _ ”   
  
There was the sound of a drawer opening and rattling, the basement door opening, and Lup’s steps descending.    
  
Angus grinned and lowered his voice, “the one it makes every time you turn it on.”

Barry started laughing and wrapped the blanket around himself before putting an arm around Angus.    
  
"One of these days, she's gonna kill both of us. You know that, right?"   
  
Keats jumped as his timer went off and he flailed around looking for where the oven mitts had gotten to. Cramming them on, he pulled the quiche out of the oven and stared at it for a long moment. He set it on the stove and took a breath before grabbing a tablet to take a picture and post it on his instagram. He made sure to tag Taako before setting the tablet back down and going for plates.   
  
"It's ready!"

Angus cheered and bounced off the couch, disturbing Tess who had just started to sprawl across him and Barry.    
  
Lup came up from the basement and tossed her wrench into the junk drawer. Looking at the quiche, she slung an arm around Keats and kissed his temple,    
  
“Looks  _ awesome _ , michen.”    
  
As Angus grabbed silverware and glasses, she yanked a braid in passing, “was that  _ handling _ me, lil man?”    
  
He gave her an innocent little boy grin and made sure to sit between Barry and Keats.

Keats set the quiche on the table and cut into it, passing the first slice over to Lup. His ears were pinned back and quivering with nervousness, though he tried not to show it as he cut the rest of the slices and passed them out.   
  
"So? How'd I do? Did I get it right? I followed the instructions but I kept having to google stuff to convert from metric and... and I don't know if it was right?"   
  
Barry settled down into his own seat, making sure Angus had ended up with a glass of milk.   
  
"I'm sure you did great." Barry glanced over to Lup, hoping very much that she wasn't going to say otherwise.

Lup kept her face blank and her ears neutral as she cut a bite off with her fork, placed it in her mouth, and chewed. Angus was the only one not looking at her, as he had shoveled half his piece into his mouth already.    
  
Swallowing, Lup tilted her head and ears thoughtfully and held the pose..... right up until Keats’ ears went from quivering to trembling which is when she grinned and ruffled his hair,    
  
“You did  _ good _ , michen, and those conversions are a bitch. Printing out a table might help, but you got this one  _ pretty _ dang good.”

Keats relaxed immediately, a huge smile crossing his face. He'd been spending a lot of time learning to cook lately, even with the classes he was taking at the community college. How  _ exactly _ Kravitz had managed to get Keats enrolled under the GI Bill without any questions asked, Keats would never know and he wasn't about to ask. Especially not when it got him a chance to study things he was curious about. He hadn't settled on a major yet, but he was enrolled in a class on developmental psychology that he was really enjoying and it was looking like that was the direction life (or unlife in this case) was going to take him.   
  
Barry took a bite and grinned. "Maybe you can recruit him for uh... for kitchen help for Candlenights, huh? Think we can fit you two  _ and _ Taako all cooking in one kitchen or is that finally hitting too many cooks in the kitchen?"

Lup’s eyes narrowed and she took another bite,   
“We could enroll him on Chopped and it might be _nicer_ , babe.”  
  
Angus held out his plate for another serving, “can I invite June over for Long Night? Her family doesn’t celebrate it, and she wants to know about the wreaths.”

Keats started laughing and then singsonged "Angus has a girlfriend! Angus has a girlfriend!" while Barry shot him a  _ look. _   
  
"Sounds fine to me. I uh...- Keats, stop that. Be nice to your brother or so help me, I  _ will _ say Savannah can't come over for Candlenights." Well, that shut Keats right up and Barry continued on. "I think that's alright, as long as her folks are okay with it and uh... and they know how late we're gonna be up."

Angus gave Keats a blank stare, "She likes  _ Parker _ in  _ Mr Rick's _ class." Turning back to Barry he nodded, "She knows about the staying up all night, and thought it sounded boring until I told her about the fire and burning the wreaths. She wants to meet the goats too, cause she hasn't seen any before."   
  
"We just need a pig and we'll be a petting zoo..." Lup muttered into her glass, "Sounds good, the more the merrier. So that's Davenport and Merle and his kids? And Taako and Kravitz, natch, I think Luce is stopping by, Maureen again with _ out _ Lucas this year, and...." she frowned into the air.

"We can always add a pig to the list for spring. Along with the uh... the chickens we keep talking about. Might as well make the jump from petting zoo to farm." He took another bite, thinking. "Are Mags and Jules coming by this year or are they off with Killian and company? I'm never sure."   
  
Keats was making faces at Angus, or he was until he caught another look from Barry and subsided. He hadn't actually  _ seen _ Savannah since school had started and he really wasn't into losing his one chance. Especially not with all the anxiety swirling in his gut about that. Sometimes, he wished she'd gone to the community college too. Or that he could've gone away to school. But here they were instead, trying to manage a long distance relationship in college while pretty much all of her friends told her to dump him and date some drow boy she'd met in her lab section... publicly... on her facebook wall... where everyone including him could see it.

Angus glared sullenly at Keats until he stopped and Angus was able to finish his quiche in peace.   
  
Lup blanched, "No way, forget I said anything. I butchered pigs once, I'm not looking for another reason to do it again."   
  
Reaching for another slice, she wrinkled her nose at her phone on the counter. Barry had long ago insisted that if they were able to do sit down family dinners, they would be  _ family _ dinners and no phones.    
"Dunno, I think she was staying at his place last I heard......So did he show you the ring he bought her?  _ Finally? _ "

For a moment, Barry's thoughts strayed to the small box he'd found in the attic looking for Candlenights decorations this year. A box labeled "Mom's stuff" in his handwriting had tipped over and a few things had spilled out including a box he hadn't remembered packing away, a small box that was now hidden in his craft room. Then he smiled, consciously pulling himself back to this conversation. That, like many things, was a problem for future Barry.   
  
"Yeah, he was asking me and Taako for advice on how to ask."   
  
Not that Barry had been able to help, but he'd sure taken notes on Taako's suggestions.

Angus squirmed, his plate empty. Sometimes it was interesting to hear Mom and Dad gossip about their extended friends and family and  _ sometimes _ he had a book to get back to.    
And he was still annoyed at Keats.   
  
"Can I go? I'm done...."   
  
"Yeah sure, Ango-" Lup turned back to Barry, "-bet you five bucks he just blurts it out when they're alone?"   
  
Angus grabbed his plate and went to rinse it off, Tess already at his heels and Hoping.

"I'll see that bet and raise you, he uh... he rips his sleeves off first. Just like... Hulks out and proposes." He joked flexed, laughing.    
  
Keats watched Angus go, ears flicking down. Alright, he'd screwed up again. There was a fine line, he was coming to realize, between acceptable levels of brotherly teasing and being a bully. And it was a line he was still trying to find sometimes.    
  
"I'll be right back."   
  
He followed Angus as he left the kitchen, shoving his hands in his pockets. "Hey Angus? I... sorry."

Angus shrugged, his shoulders staying hunched, "she's my  _ friend _ , we're allowed to be  _ friends _ and not...not  _ kiss _ or whatever everyone else thinks we should be doing."   
  
Passing by the bookshelves, he grabbed the book he wanted and headed for his room.

Keats winced and pulled back. An apology wasn't going to work here. Then he remembered what Dad had told him and nodded a little. He'd remember and do better next time. That was all he  _ could _ do. Still, he felt awful as he walked back into the kitchen and dropped into his seat.

Lup’s ear flicked upright from its tilted position as he sat back down, but she didn’t say anything beyond giving Keats a knowing look.    
  
“Combine that with trying to include Johann, and that’s probably his best plan.”

Barry snorted. "I don't know if  _ best _ is the word I'd use, babe. But uh... but okay. If you say so."   
  
He glanced over at Keats, noticing the way the boy was pushing the last of his quiche around on the plate. He considered saying something but saw the look on Lup's face and decided the boys would work it out on their own. Keats needed the practice having fights where an apology didn't just fix everything anyway.   
  
"I'll lay even odds Johann tries to eat the ring if uh... if Magnus tries to involve him in any way."

Lup sputtered into her water and started cackling loud,    
“Oh  _ MAN _ , I hope he gets Carey to film it-“    
  
Shaking her head, she collected her plate and kissed Keats’ temple,    
  
“I’ll get dishes, you did awesome here, michen.”

Keats was going to argue. Some part of him was convinced that he  _ should _ argue. Instead, he just nodded a little. After a long moment of quiet while Barry took the leftovers to wrap them and put them in the fridge, Keats looked up.   
  
"Hey Mom? For Longnight, will you help me make some macarons? I tried but I keep messing up the batter and I don't know what I'm doing wrong. I think we could make them ahead and then I wouldn't be in the way of you and Uncle Taako, right?"

"Sure thing, though-" Lup tossed a narrowed eyed look over her shoulder, contemplating. "......You did this puff pastry yourself, yes? And  _ your _ hands aren't going to melt the butter...."   
  
Her ears flicked, "....we'll make palmiers too, night before, maybe."

Barry started laughing as he finished the last of the non-dishes clean-up. "Babe, are you using and abusing the fact that our son has no body heat for those crazy French cookies you keep uh...." He glanced at her and decided not to finish that sentence.    


Lup stuck her tongue out at Barry, “I’m not  _ abusing _ it, I’m  _ outsourcing my labor _ .”    


Keats got up, grabbing his tablet. "How do you spell that? I bet I can find a recipe. I was also sort of thinking about trying to make croissants this weekend but the recipe I was looking at says it takes like 3 days and that sounded  _ nuts." _

Glancing at Keats, she spelled it out, “don’t bother, though, I’ve got one. Only been trying to manage it for.... well, a long ass time. And croissant really don’t NEED to take that long. Even if you’re making your own pastry, that really shouldn’t take more than a few hours. I mean, yeah sure, go all artisanal and  _ French _ , I guess, but SOME people need to eat and have lives....”

"I was looking at Julia Child's recipe. It does seem pretty fancy. Maybe you could show me an easier one?"   
  
He'd been getting more and more into French food as he explored his birth family's culture on his own terms. Barry smiled as Keats went to lean on the counter, tablet in hand, where they could talk recipes. Then he went upstairs and knocked on the door to Angus' room.   
  
"Bud, you busy?"

Angus made a noise of either confirmation or negation and there was the sound of a page turning. After half a beat, he added “c’min”   
  
He was laying on his bed on his stomach, Tess pushed against his side in a ball, as he read through Dragonsong. Glancing up at Barry, he rolled his eyes,    
  
“I’m not  _ mad _ at Keats, I just didn’t wanna talk about it.”

Barry stepped inside and sat on the edge of the bed.   
  
"That's alright. It'd be alright even if you  _ were _ mad at him. That's for you two to figure out. I just wanted to make sure that uh... that you were alright. Seemed to me like that was uh... like that was maybe more than just Keats getting to you."

Angus’s shoulders relaxed slightly at that; it was always good to be reminded Barry thought he could handle his own stuff.    
  
He reached a hand back to scratch at Tess’s neck and got a  _ mrrp _ of contentment, before he answered.    
  
“....Little Jerry started hanging around some seventh graders and they’re telling him one of us should be dating June if we’re  _ friends _ , and Little Jerry’s scared to admit he likes boys better, so  _ I _ gotta be dating June.”

Barry nodded, that was something he understood pretty well.   
  
"Ahhhh, makes sense. I've heard stuff like that before. Have you told him it bothers you?" He paused for a second. "And, just so you know, you absolutely can be her friend without uh... without dating. Even when you're older. I figure you're smart enough to know that, but it's always nice to uh... to hear it out loud, right?"

“Yeah, I know....” Angus paused, stroking Tess’s ear, “I told him it was stupid and bothered us, and he said it was a joke and we shouldn’t take it so seriously and I told him that was the excuse assholes always used and he went and told Ms Erskin I said a cuss because he didn’t have an answer.”

"Do you know what you're gonna do if he uh... if he keeps doing things that bother you like that?"   
  
Barry was more hesitant with this part. On one hand, Angus certainly was old enough to understand. On the other, this wasn't exactly an easy topic.    
  
"I mean, I know he's your friend and all, but if he's not gonna listen to you..."

Angus went quiet, still stroking Tess, who was purring like a motor. Slowly, he sat up and leaned into Barry, despite Tess grumpy protestations. Once she was settled again, he started up,    
  
“..... we told him on the last day of school if he hasn’t stopped when we come back from vacation, we’re gonna ask for a new reading and science group partner. He got scared because June is the only one who can explain things so he remembers them, even after I told the teacher he needs better learning accommodations. She just thinks he’s  _ lazy _ .”

Barry put an arm around Angus' shoulders and hugged him tight. He was such a smart kid, and a good one too.  
  
"If he does stop, he might slip up. Like Keats does sometimes, right? And that's okay, that just means he's learning. But as long as he keeps trying to do better, then that's alright. And if he doesn't try, then uh... then you've got the right idea. You never have to let someone hurt you, Ango. Even if it's just hurting your feelings, it's still hurting. Okay, bud?"  
  
He reached over to give Tess a scratch and smiled.

Angus nodded, once then more firmly, “yeah... yeah okay.”    
  
Relaxing into Barry’s hug, he wrinkled his nose,    
“....if he  _ doesnt _ shape up, next he’s gonna say I’m gay and I don’t think I have a hat good enough for that....”

For a moment, Barry did nothing. He didn't even move. Then he started laughing so hard that he started coughing. When he finally got himself back under control, he put his arm around Angus again.    
  
"Sorry, I just... Taako's fucking  _ hat. _ Anyway, if he doesn't shape up, tell him he can get lost. Maybe he'll figure it out and maybe he won't. But you're not... You're not responsible for your friend figuring his shit out. That's all on him. Even if you're a good kid who's already got his shit figured out."

Angus was grinning as Barry laughed, and leaned back into him with something of a smug look, and used his best Taako impression,    
  
“Hey, if- if you don’t strut your stuff, homie, no one will  _ care _ how much of the talk you can talk.”

Barry snorted at that and ruffled Angus' hair.    
  
"Yeah, yeah,  _ Taako, _ whatever you say. That uh... that's an uncanny impression you've got going, kiddo. It's a good thing I know you're a good person at bottom or I'd be worried about when you uh... when you inevitably take over the world once you're tall enough."

Angus giggled, “I don’t  _ wanna _ take over the world, politics is boring. I wanna catch criminals.”    
  
Closing his eyes against the just this side of comfortable chill of Barry and petting Tess, Angus felt himself relaxing entirely.    
  
“...thanks, Dad.”

"Any time, buddy." Barry turned and kissed the top of Angus' head. "I'm proud of you. You're dealing with all of this stuff way better than I did."   
  
Then he cleared his throat a little, not really wanting to go down  _ that _ rabbit hole.    
  
"Enjoying the book?"

“ _ Yes _ , can I ask Taako if I can give Tess wings?”

"You definitely cannot make the menace cat who's  _ already _ trying to eat the Candlenights decorations able to  _ fly, _ Angus."


	2. In Which Barry Gets Punished

Later that evening, Barry walked into his and Lup's room, intent on nothing more than grabbing his pajamas (the new panda feet-in ones) and getting ready for bed. Instead, he found himself standing at the foot of the bed, staring at the bottle of lube very pointedly set in the middle of the mattress and each of the restraints set out from where they were normally hidden. He took a breath and stuck his head back out into the hall. Lup was in the bathroom still, brushing her teeth based on the sound. He went back into the room and tried to decide how to read this. He wasn't sure which one of them she was planning on having tied down tonight, but either way, he was very into where this was going.

 

The water ran and turned off and there was the patting of feet as Lup said good night to Angus and crossed the landing. Closing the door and activating the muffle charm, she slid up behind Barry and kissed his neck, grinning,    
  
“Told you I would get you back later, babe ~”

 

Barry turned and wrapped his arms around her and kissed her lightly.   
  
"That you did. And this uh... this is very not what I was picturing but I gotta say, I like this vengeance a lot better."

 

Lup leaned into the kiss, grinning, “what good’s a punishment if you don’t like it?”    
  
Pulling back, her ears flicked into a neutral position and her eyes sharpened, “Strip and get on your stomach, Bluejeans. If you thinking cold hands are funny, we’re gonna make it so you can’t use ‘em.”

 

Barry stood straighter the moment she pulled back and a moment later, his jeans were on the floor and the rest of his clothes followed them.    
  
"Yes, Ma'am~"   
  
He crawled onto the bed, looking back at her over his shoulder for a moment. Then he moved the lube aside and laid on his stomach just like she'd told him to.

 

Lup met his gaze and her ears flicked, eyes crinkling into a smile as  _ fondessdesirelove _ pushed across their bond, before smoothing her face and running her hands along his ankles to strap on the restraints.    
Moving to his hands, she glanced at his face, “Color?”

 

He was leaning on his elbows to be able to look back still, an eager expression on his face. He answered with no hesitation.   
  
"Green."

 

Lup smiled and tugged his hands until he straightened them out and she could tighten the cuffs around them.    
  
Once she was finished, Lup picked up the bottle of lube and spun it in one hand,    
  
“Here’s how this one’s gonna work; I’m gonna eat you out, preferably till you’re sobbing,” she gave him a sly look, “-followed by fucking you, and you’re absolutely not allowed at either of these times to come until I do, got it, babe?”

 

Barry took a shaky breath, his eyes going wide, "I... I can do that." He nodded a little, turning back to look at her again. He bit his lower lip. "Yeah, I can do that for you."

 

Lup grinned and leaned down to kiss his temple,    
“You’re so good, Bear, can’t wait to hear you fall apart....”   
  
Moving back, she settled herself between Barry’s legs, running her hands along his thighs, kneading at his butt happily, and pinging along their bond consistently.    
  
Let there be no confusion as to  _ who _ was back here.   
  
Nosing along the base of Barry’s spine, Lup made a face at her nose going cold  _ again _ before leaving a trail of kisses, hands moving in soft caresses.

 

Barry wiggled a little at her touch, responding to each and every ping of magic with one of his own, just letting her know that he was still good. Not being able to see her during any kind of sex was still a little bit of a risk but it was one he was alright with taking thanks to that magical bond.

 

Lup’s fingers dipped down and pushed Barry apart, her other hand going for the small dental dam packet she’s left on the bed and she glanced up once before her mouth was occupied,    
  
“Gods, you’re being so damned good for me, babe-“   
  
Leaning down, she pulled the latex tight and laved her tongue against his entrance before licking into him, humming enjoyment.

 

He made a soft noise of pleasure at the first contact and strained against the restraints on his wrists, unthinkingly trying to get a hand to his mouth to stop the noises he knew he would be making in a moment.   
  


Lup grinned, spinning her tongue in a tight circle, before pulling away, her fingertip tracing him to keep the sensations up,    
  
“I said till you’re sobbing, Bear, you  _ know _ I want to hear you~ “   
  
Leaning back down again, she smiled as she felt him warming against her fingers and tongue under the latex, and moved a hand out along his ass, thumb going in contented circles, fingers kneading.

 

"S-sorry, babe,” He whimpered, closing his eyes. "Feels real good."   
  
That was a wild understatement. Her hands on him, her tongue lapping against him, it was amazing, it was intoxicating. He didn't have the words to describe how he felt and he poured emotions at her in his need to let her know.

 

It was hard to keep her face straight, keep the role on when waves of  _ loveneeddevotionyours _ kept crashing up their bond against her mind, and she was glad Barry was face down. Even as she licked and nuzzled and pushed her fingers against flexing muscles, she fought the inclination to purr. The point was to make it  _ difficult _ for him not to come, not  _ impossible _ .    
  
Pulling away and flexing her jaw, Lup tossed the dam and reached for gloves and lube, “How you doing over there, babe, got a color?”

 

Barry gasped, looking up from where he'd been whimpering into the mattress. He clenched and unclenched his fists, doing his best to focus past the pleasure and force the words out of him.   
  
"Gr-green, you  _ w-wonderful _ woman."

 

Lup grinned, “Yes, yes I  _ am _ . And you’re doing fan _ tas- _ ” a harder pat to his ass than normal,”-tic for me.” Leaning over, she kissed the back of his shoulder on a nearly healed bruise, “Make sure you don’t muffle anything, babe, gotta let me know I’m doing my job right.”    
  
Lup pulled out of Barry’s line of sight to put on the glove and lube, letting the noise of it be his only way of tracking her. But she still pinged him again before she slid a finger in, kissing the base of his spine as she did.    
  
“ _ Such _ a gorgeous view.... so good for me, Barry....”

 

The anticipation was rising in him as he waited for her, trying not to move. At the ping, he started to turn to look back at her and instead gasped into the mattress.   
  
"Fuck... fuck, Lup." He tried to rock back against her and could only just. "Gotta... gotta be good for you. I gotta..."   
  
He knew it was going to be hard not to come before she did at this rate, not with the way she was treating him so well.

 

Lup cooed wordless approval, scissoring a second finger in, working Barry open with long, even strokes.    
  
He was shuddering under her free hand as she ran that up his back and over his shoulders, “Gonna have to make a decision here, Bear, three or four? You’ve been  _ so _ good, takin’ me so nice, don’t wanna add any pain to that, yeah?”

 

"D-don't know I c-can do f-four and not... Fuck, Lup. I'm so close."    
  
He clenched his fists as tightly as he could, a moan escaping his lips as he tried to keep from rocking back again. He was breathless with desire, begging with desperation.   
  
"Please.  _ Please, _ Lup."

 

Humming, Lup withdrew her fingers and pulled the glove off, “Want a break, [beloved]?”

 

A hot blush burned on his cheeks as he whined when she pulled away. He felt achingly empty and that was the last thing he wanted.   
  
"N-no. I can do it. I can. Promise. I promise." He was babbling and he knew it and he didn't care.

 

The blush made Lup grin, and she moved up his back to press a kiss to his warm cheek, the soft spot under his ear, and the back of his neck as the flush moved along it.    
  
“If you’re  _ so _ sure...”    
  
It was maybe a  _ little _ mean to press her breasts into his back, run her clit along his ass parallel to where he wanted it, but...    
  
Kissing Barry’s shoulder again, Lup sat up and grabbed for the condom packet, “Love you, Barry.”

 

"So very sure." Barry turned back to try and watch her. "Love you too, Lup. Love you so much."

 

Her ears flicked up happily as she slid the condom on and slicked herself properly, eyes soft and fond as they watched him.    
  
Leaning forward, Lup placed another trail of kisses along Barry’s spine, before guiding herself in with a sigh.    
  
“Gods, but you’re good... spoiled me for anyone and everyone else, you know...”    
  
Slowly beginning to move, Lup gripped his side and leaned over him, close enough to drop kisses on his shoulders.

His head went back and he moaned. It was just a bit tight, almost too much for him, but he stayed still and let her take control. He loved her so much,  _ needed _ her so much. Each movement shot another electric spike of pleasure through his core.    
  
He clenched his fists again, straining against the cuffs. He clung to the last of his control, desperately trying to hold on against this tidal wave that threatened to wash him away.

 

Lup made a  _ hmmm _ ing noise, ear tilted at Barry, her movements unhurried, running mental fingers through the feelings along their bond.    
Her thrusts stayed slow, enjoying the feeling of him underneath her, as she pulled up onto her knees, lifting him ever so slightly. Reaching around she gripped the base of his cock and kissed his spine,    
  
“Need some help here, Bear?”

 

"Th-thought y-you wanted me to-" He gasped, shuddering. "To... to w-wait for-"   
  
And then he arched his back as another shudder rocked his body and he gasped her name as his edge found him more than he found it.

 

“Well, that didn’t work,” Lup let amusement spill across their bond as she loosened her grip on him and pulled her hand back to his hips. “Think that means I pound you till  _ I _ come, is that right?”

 

"Oh fuck yes, Lup. Come for me, beautiful."   
He rocked his hips back as much as he could, trying to give her what she needed.

 

Grinning, Lup pulled him against her in a sharp movement, “Funny- you can- still say- that...face down and, and ass up, Bluejeans-“   
  
She sighed happily, letting her own pleasure wash down their bond now that she wasn’t worried about him coming. The echoes that came back at her were enough to send her tilting along her edge, closer and closer.

 

It was so hard for him to get words out past the absolutely sinful moans escaping his lips, but he managed it nonetheless.   
"W-well, you-  _ fuck. _ You are b-beautiful. And... and I really want... I really want you to...  _ Fuck that's good, Lup." _

 

Lup arched over him, small whines dropping out of her throat as the sensations she was feeling hit Barry’s and  _ mixed _ and she was feeling the tight coolness mixed with the flooding heat that was making Barry moan and she froze, gasping, gripping his hips tight enough to bruise as she shook.    
  
Slowly, she came down, leaning forward to rest her flaming cheeks on Barry’s room temperature shoulders and huffed a laugh.    
  
“You’re so gorgeous...... love you....” scattering kisses along his neck, Lup reached a trembling hand up to unwrap his restraints.

 

The moment the restraints were off, Barry turned to wrap his arms around her. He held her close and kissed her, running his hands over her sides.   
  
"Love you too, Lup. Love you so much."

 

Lup kissed him back, arms wrapping around his neck to run her fingernails along the base of his skull, pouring  _ loveadorationlovemineaffectionLOVE _ down their link.   
  
Pulling back, she grinned teasingly at him, "Ok, but since you  _ did _ fail to last until after me,  _ you _ get to clean that up, [beloved]."

 

He chuckled quietly and nuzzled close, eyes closed in soft pleasure, “Yeah, yeah. I’ll grab the wipes in a second.”   
He didn’t particularly want to move. Not right now.

 

Lup rubbed her cheek against his, soft purr starting up as she hitched a leg over his. His body was slowly leeching warmth out of hers, creating an equilibrium between them that was slightly cooler than her average and much warmer than his.

 

A bit later, when they'd cleaned up and gotten into pajamas against the cold, they were snuggled under the heavy comforter and Barry was running his fingers through her hair. He chuckled quietly and kissed her forehead, "Oh, by the way, babe, your son wanted to give the cat wings."

  
Lup wrinkled her nose, “why is he  _ my _ son when he wants to do something magically flashy and probably unadvised.”   
  
She went quiet for a beat, and then shot him a look, “ _ Don’t _ answer that one.”


	3. Chapter 3

 

Candlenights dawned bright and cold, the sun shining a weak defiance on the new fallen snow, and Lup leaned out the back door, ignoring the cold and basking in what sunlight hit her face before turning back to her kitchen, ears flicked up in determination.    
  
Two nights of friends and family stopping by, tonight would be dinner and tomorrow a buffet, there was  _ much _ prep work to do and limited space to store things. The logistics were  _ tight _ .    
  
She grinned; it was the best kind of chaos, and she LOVED it.    
Keats was her sous chef until Taako arrived, Angus and Barry were tasked with cleaning and the last of the decorations and keeping Tess occupied.    
  
But for  _ now _ , there was The Turkey, as only her and Taako’s aunt had ever made.

* * *

Keats was nervous. Between everything he was helping with in the kitchen and the carefully wrapped presents hidden under his bed downstairs and the fact that Savannah hadn't gotten here yet, he was practically vibrating with his nervousness. Still, he tried to focus on getting everything ready and helping as much as he could. But the moment Taako came through the door, he sprinted full speed up the stairs to go take a shower before she got here. 

* * *

  
Barry had moved the litter box upstairs and corralled Tess as best he could. He had gotten the presents he'd hidden out to put them under the Candlenights bush. Then he set about lighting candles in all the windows, set with little anti-fire wards tucked under them just in case. He had gotten to the point where he could cast that spell in his sleep, probably. It was just a side effect of life with Lup, he figured.

* * *

Taako and Kravitz arriving meant the kitchen was suddenly akin to a war zone, with Taako and Lup yelling at each other in tones alternating between angry and laughing. Angus decided he could save his people energy by retreating to his room with Tess until more people arrived. On his way up the stairs, he saw Kravitz hovering by the Candlenights bush looking  _ supremely _ awkward, and inwardly sighed. 

This was good will towards men, or whatever Kravitz was, right?    
  
“Do you want to see the books in my room, Kravitz?”

* * *

Just outside the wards, in the snow that fell unimpeded, a spiral began to form. Slowly, sigils took shape, glowing red and black against the bright white of the untouched snow. The spiral grew until it brushed against the wards and then light shot up from it and Savannah stepped through, bundles in her arms and a coat pulled tight around her. Her tail was tucked up inside the coat and her hat stopped just short of her curling horns. Turning, she looked back into the blood red portal that hung in the air and smiled.

  
"Thanks, Grandad!"   
  
From the depths of the portal, a voice echoed through the air.   
  
**"Enjoy the festivities, young one."** **  
**   
She started up the walk and the portal snapped shut, vanishing and leaning only a circle in the snow.

Lup and Taako’s heads snapped around at the same time, Taako wide-eyed and Lup grinning,    
  
“What the  _ fuck _ just touched-“   
“Oh good, Savannah’s here.”    
“ _ Lulu _ , what the  _ actual _ fuck just-“   
  
Ignoring her twin, Lup leaned out of the kitchen doorway and yelled for Keats,    
  
“ _ BOYO! _ Ya girl’s here, open the door!”   
  
Angus’s room opened, the sound of Tess yelling was briefly heard as Angus and Kravitz walked out, Kravitz looking thoughtful.

Keats slammed down the stairs, hair still wet, and trying to button his shirt as he ran. He'd barely gotten his shirt all the way closed when he got to the door and threw it open. Savannah lit up as she saw him and stepped inside.    
  
"Happy Candlenights, Sweetheart." He blushed a little. "I missed you."   
  
She wrapped an arm around him and laughed.   
  
"I missed you too. Lemme just put these down and..." She set the wrapped presents on the couch and then immediately turned around, hugging him tightly and kissing him.

Lup came out of the kitchen for a hug, once she’d shucked her apron and they were done,    
  
“Hey sweetie! Your Grandad didn’t want to come in for coffee?”    
  
Angus was bouncing on his toes with his tablet out, antsy to show her something on his screen, and annoyed everyone was  _ taking so long _ -

Savannah hung her coat by the door, stuffed her hat into the pocket, and went to give Lup a hug.   
  
"Not today, he's doing the visiting rounds. He was complaining the whole time through his domain that the Family’s spread out so much now and it's harder to visit everybody than it used to be."   
  
Then she turned. "Hey there, monster. How're you doing?"   
  
Somewhere along the way, she'd started picking up some of Keats' slang and mixing it into her daily speech.

Angus beamed and held up his tablet, “I downloaded that app your cousin made and I’m already on level nineteen!”

The app in question was a swirling vortex of writing in Infernal with a list of matching and vocabulary games.   
  
"One of these days, I'll have to come over so you can practice it out loud."  
  
Kravitz looked at him for a long time before turning to Lup and asking in an undertone;    
  
“He....is learning Infernal? Have you explained-“   
  
Lup waved him away, grinning, “nothing he writes or signs is binding until he’s eighteen, I checked in with her family when we joined their HOA.”

Savannah looked up then and saw Kravitz. For a moment, her eyes went very wide and her tail flicked back and forth like a nervous cat's. Then she nodded once. He nodded back, the motion slow and deliberate. Keats looked back and forth between them and then at Lup, questioningly.

Lup shrugged, ears twitching curiously, but then Taako called her from the kitchen and she was distracted.    
  
Savannah moved towards Keats and grabbed his hand, acting entirely normal again.   
  
"So... How do you guys do Candlenights? Because I know what it's like at our house, but I'm betting its um... a lot different."

Angus pulled Savannah over to help her set her packages down, surreptitiously shaking a few. Keats shot Angus a look and then followed after, almost trailing behind her like a lost puppy. Angus ignored him cheerfully as he answered Savannah’s question.

“Mom says we’re figuring this shit out as we go, but eating a ton and passing out presents is a  _ must _ . All the rituals are for tomorrow, and we know Taako’s getting drunk.” He glanced up at Kravitz and grinned.

Kravitz looked a little sheepish and then smiled fondly towards the kitchen, “Oh, probably.”   
  
Savannah was laughed. “Yeah, that sure sounds like every other holiday I’ve seen with y’all. Especially the lots of food part.” She reached for Keats’ hand, glancing at him curiously.

Once all the presents were set out, Angus started arranging them, moving several packages to and fro until he stopped, frowned, sniffed, and Lup came barreling out of the kitchen again,    
  
“ _ Angus McDonald, you are not detectiving those gifts, by order of me! _ ”   
  
There was the crunch of tires outside, and she shoved him to the door, “Now you’re welcoming committee. Scoot.”

Savannah started laughing at that and tugged Keats with her to the couch.   
  
“Your brother is so adorable, you know that? Way better than mine. He’s just a brat.”   
  
Keats’ ears flicked back for just a moment before he smiled and put an arm around her shoulders.   
  
“Yeah, he’s a pretty good kid.”   
  
Barry walked down the stairs then, wiping his hands on his jeans.   
  
“Guest room’s all set. Did uh... did I hear a car? Oh, hello Savannah. It’s nice to see you again.”   
  
“S’up, Mr Bluejeans.”

“It’s Magnus and Julia!”    
  
Angus shoved his boots on without bothering to tie them and ran out to meet them, his shouts mingling with the happy barks of dogs.    
  
Lup appeared at the kitchen entry  _ again _ and flicked a glance at Barry,    
“Hey, I wonder if Magnus brou-“    
  
Angus appeared at the door, which he had not bothered to shut, cheeks flushed and eyes round.    
  
“KEATS! MAGNUS BROUGHT A PUPPY!”

Keats’ ears flicked straight up in excitement and Savannah laughed, pushing him towards the door.   
  
“Go on, you know you want to.”   
  
Keats didn’t even bother with boots. He just ran barefoot out into the snow.   
  
Barry shook his head a little, smiling, and then went to give Lup a kiss.   
  
“We’re  _ really _ gonna have to get that kid a dog before uh... before he brings a pet home himself, huh?”

Lup looked shifty, ears tilting back,    
“So  _ maybe _ Magnus suggested he was fostering this one litter and  _ maybe _ I said if the boys get along with it I might... bring up... the possibility....”

“You brilliant woman. Perfect.”   
  
Barry laughed, watching as the boys came barreling back inside, covered in snow and being chased by the puppy in question.

“Alsohe’sbeensendingmepicturesofthisoneforthreedaysandIwantit- HEY JULES, Happy Candlenights!”    
  
Taako stuck his head out of the kitchen,    
“Lulu,  _ pick a side _ of the  _ fucking door _ , or I will finish this turkey my _ self! _ ”   
  
“ _ Excuse me? _ You, mister ‘no it doesn’t need basting’ at this stage? Get the  _ fuck _ out of my kitchen-“   
  
The living room was a whirlwind of noise, between greetings, puppy yapping, Johann joining in with the occasional disgruntled bark, and still the door opened and more people came in.    
  
The living room was full to bursting, overflowing into the library and dogs corralled to Keats’ room by the time Lup and Taako announced that dinner was ready. The whole lab crew was there, plus Maureen, looking slightly thinner and a bit tired, but smiling at everyone from her place on the couch.

Barry was just slightly anxious. Crowds weren't exactly his forte. There was also the fact that he kept remembering  _ exactly _ what he'd hidden in his desk in the work-room-turned-guest-room that Taako and Kravitz would be staying in tonight. He had, at least, settled on a time to ask. A time that made perfect sense to him and he figured Lup would appreciate: dawn of Long Night. The first dawn of the year. It was  _ perfect. _ It had all that hope wrapped up in it and it was absolutely perfect. He just had to make it that long. Which was proving surprisingly difficult with all the kids underfoot. Which was how he'd ended up in a corner chatting with Maureen about work. It was really just safer for everyone involved that way.   
  
He did, however, take an opportunity to sneak a butter knife into Lup's back pocket when she wasn't looking. She'd find it eventually.

Lup found them after a while, flushed to her ear tips with excitement and alcohol. Draping herself over Barry, she pressed her cheek to his, put the butter knife back in his hand,  and grinned at Maureen,    
  
“We’re doing presents now before the kiddos rebel. And I think that might be it for Angus, he’s looking peaky.”    
  
Maureen laughed softly, and got out of her seat with a wince, “he’s not the only one.  _ Woof _ , BB, I’m glad I have you to point me at the good beer now.”

"Like I always told you, make sure it uh... make sure the label's not in English and it wasn't made in the States and you're good."   
  
Barry wrapped an arm around Lup's waist. "Alright, presents time. Kids first and then adults, you think? Or uh..." He gave her an evil grin. "Ooooor we could go backwards, oldest to youngest." He dropped his voice. "Make Kravitz admit how old he is."

“I think Angus might riot, or I’d be right there with you, babe. He’s been taking my alarm spell to pieces slowly all fuckin’ night.”    
  
As Lup led them back to the main group, she sent a slightly worried glance at Maureen,    
“Speaking of good beers, you gonna be okay to drive? Not saying you’re blitzed or anything, you’ve just been lookin’ tired all night. We can kick Keats to the couch up here and give you his bed if you want.”    
  
Maureen gave her a tilted smile,    
“I’ve been looking tired for months now, but thank you. I’ll... I’ll think about it....”

Barry smiled at Maureen and then went to go start organizing the presents into piles for easiest handing out. Then he leaned in to whisper to Lup.    
  
"So, which one of us is telling Keats that Savannah can't stay the night? Because uh... I've overheard him saying a few things and he, at least, seems to think that that's an option."   
  
The pair in question were in the basement at just that moment, playing with the puppy that Magnus had brought.

Lup’s ears tilted in amusement,    
“We, uhhhh,  _ could _ be quite evil and let her Grandad do it....” looking at Angus who was vibrating as he stared at them, she grinned,    
“ _ Yes _ , michen, please tell them we’re starting.”

Barry laughed and made sure to move the kids' present piles further forward.   
  
"So, I'm thinking a nice, organized, one present at a time sort of thing. Think that uh... think the kids can manage that?" Then he looked pointedly over at where Taako had settled, lounging across Kravitz on the couch. "I take that back. Think the  _ adults _ can manage that?"

“Fuck the shut up, Barold.” Taako amiably flipped him off while settling more comfortably in Kravitz’s lap, “besides I got the  _ best _ present right  _ here~ _ ”   
  
Lup made a gagging noise and looked towards the basement door as Angus burst through again,    
“Okay, Ango, you’re currently the youngest so you either go first or last, we haven’t decided the order yet~”

Keats followed at a more reserved pace, the puppy flopped in his arms and Savannah just behind him.    
  
"Pretty sure you're supposed to leave the dog in the basement, hun." She whispered.   
  
His ears flicked up and then he gave her an embarrassed smile.   
  
"But he's  _ sleeping." _   
  
"You're so damn cute. Come on, let's go sit."

Magnus beamed when he saw Keats holding the puppy and looked conspicuously from him to Lup and Barry.    
  
Lup stuck her tongue out at him and handed a box to a quivering Angus,    
  
“This one’s from Taako so he can brag about how it’s the best one the rest of the night, even when he’s objectively  _ wrong- _ ”   
  
Angus managed a “THANK YOU-“ before tearing open the wrapping over Taako’s aggrieved tirade about “My  _ sister _ , my  _ own family _ , whom I  _ slaved for _ for  _ hours- _ pretty nice, huh Agnes?”   
  
Angus was staring in delight at an officially licensed Wizard’s Hat, with the point and pentagram and everything. It had very obviously been modified to Taako’s tastes and he met Barry’s eyes across the room with a grin.

Barry grinned back and shot Angus a thumbs up.    
  
"Looking good, kiddo. So, that means Keats is up next, right babe?"   
  
Keats looked up. He'd been leaning against Savannah and giving the puppy tummy rubs to keep it asleep. He turned to her and she smiled at him, holding her arms out for the puppy.    
  
"Go on, I'll guard your baby from the big bad world."   
  
_ "Savannah." _

Angus put his hat on and was already scooting to the pile with his name on it, thinking Lup might be distracted as she handed around gifts.    
  
“This one’s from me, Angus I swear to  _ Pan- _ ”

Barry handed Keats a wrapped package with a grin on his face.    
  
"This one's from Taako."   
  
Keats looked over at Taako, more than a bit surprised. He hadn't really expected a present from that quarter. Sure, he thought of him as Uncle Taako now, and called him that, but still. On the inside, he was more than a little convinced that Taako still thought of him as a smaller Edward that was just waiting for a time and a place to turn bad.   
  
He ripped the paper off and his eyes lit up. Inside was a cookbook. A Taako brand one, sure, but it wasn't a beginner one. This was one of the real, authentic cookbooks that had Taako's  _ real _ recipes in it. Then he opened it up and his ears shot straight up. There were notes in the margins. Explanations, corrections, everything.   
  
"This... this is... Uncle Taako, this is amazing!"

“Yes it is  _ you’re welcome _ , and we’ll see if you can be a decent sous chef by next Candlenights.”    
  
Lup threw her present at his head, which at least made him squawk and flail as she passed presents around to the various humans.    
  
Barry was actually last before Lup and Taako, and she was having an argument over who got to open first as she handed Barry hers.    
  
“Fuck  _ fine _ , just open yours at the same TIME-“

Barry kissed her cheek as he swapped presents with her. "Happy Candlenights, Lup."   
  
Then he sat down to very carefully and neatly remove the paper, more a matter of separating tape and lifting folded edges to slide out the contents than anything else. Most of the time, it was easy to forget that Barry had grown up during the Depression and rationing but wrapping paper always gave him away. He couldn't bring himself to waste it.

Lup watched him, eagerly, her hand running over the rather heavy and oddly weighted box. Fuck, she couldn’t actually wait, and pulled the bow and lid open, to Taako’s indignant “ _ HEY! _ ”   
  
Her mouth dropped open and she covered her face with her hands, “you fuckin’  _ asshole! _ ”

Barry looked up, a smile on his face.    
  
"It uh... it took me a while to track down the right one. I hope you like it."   
  
Then he slipped the book out of the paper and absolutely lit up as he skimmed the cover. She'd found a book for him, a book about people like him who didn't know they had magic until they were adults, about how their magic could work differently since they'd usually found other ways to channel the power stirring inside of them. It was so much, so many of the answers to his questions right here in his hand.  
  
Inside under the author’s dedication to her wife, Lark, Lup had written 

_ ‘Always nice to know ‘unique’ doesn’t mean ‘alone’. Happy Candlenights, babe’ _

"This... Lup, this is...  _ Shit." _

Taako fell off Kravitz’s lap, since Lup had not taken the gift out of its box and peered in, eyes going round,    
  
“What the  _ fuck _ , Barold?”    
  
Lup sniffed and wiped her eyes, Magnus loudly declaring in the background that she was  _ being mean _ and everyone wanted to see.    
  
Hands shaking a little, she reached in and pulled out a violin. It was clearly second hand, the strings loosened for long storage, but it was a reddish wood with a lovely design of ivy leaves up the neck and Lup handled it like it was treasure.

Barry stood, holding the book in one hand like someone who very much was not planning on putting it down any time soon, and he went to put an arm around her waist.   
  
"So? You haven't said if you like it or not."   
  
He wasn't really asking. Not with that tone. That was his teasing tone, his smugly confident tone, his I already know I did a good job and I'm just waiting for you to confirm it tone. And he had an absolutely shit eating grin on his face.

“You ass...” Lup sent her torrent of emotions, happiness and longing and joy and a hint of grief she’d never quite given up, snaking along their bond to balance against her words. “S’fuckin’ beautiful, I  _ hate _ you- Angus, give everyone their presents, I’m done.”    
  
“Taako hasn’t opened his yet, and it’s from me,” Angus pointed out, scooting over to lean against her other side.

Barry kissed her cheek and spoke softly. "I wanted it to be something special this year."   
  
Then he looked over to where Keats was showing off his new leather jacket for Savannah and then down at Angus. Finally, he looked over at Taako and grinned.   
  
"So, what's in there?"

Taako had torn the wrapping off as soon as Angus had pointed it out and was opening the box inside. Opening the pieces of styrofoam in  _ that _ revealed a mug covered in stars and primary colors with ‘WORLD’S BEST  _ Uncle _ ’ printed on the side. Scrawled in purple sharpie was the word ‘wizarding’ above ‘uncle’ and Angus pushed several similarly sized and wrapped packages to his immediate family and held one up,    
  
“I can’t hand this one out until we know if Kravitz or Merle is older.”    
  
He was absolutely beaming with innocence.   
  
Taako coughed and held the mug up where it could be Seen,    
“This is, is the ugliest FUH-king thing I have ever seen in my  _ life _ , Djangus,” his voice cracked on the last word.    
  
Angus gave him his best most innocent little boy smile, “I know! I saw it and thought of  _ you _ , sir!”

Keats’ ears flicked back as he looked between Angus and Taako. He didn’t understand why Angus wasn’t more upset about the way Taako treated him. Savannah put a hand on his knee and he looked up at her. She kissed his cheek and he smiled a little. Maybe he didn’t need to understand. Maybe that was alright. He’d figure it out later.

Merle coughed and held out a hand,    
“Let’s say I’m older than Bones here for moving things along sake, c’mon kid.”   
  
The packages were indeed mugs with variations on ‘world’s best x’; Kravitz’s had ‘cryptid’ scrawled above  _ Uncle _ , Merle’s cleric mug had a question mark added after BEST. None of them were half as ugly as the one Taako got.    
  
Lup had just managed to pull herself together before opening Angus’s present, and had to set it down and head upstairs,    
“NO I LOVE IT AND YOU’RE TERRIBLE-“   
  
The bathroom door shut firmly, and Angus looked pleased with himself, handing more out to Magnus and Julia.

Barry looked up the stairs after Lup and sent a querying ping, just enough to be sure she was alright. Then he sent love after it.  
  
The reply was a confused mess of positive emotions followed by a soothing push of artificial calm.   
  
Keats laughed as he read his mug and reached to tug Angus into a hug. Then he looked up.   
  
“I hope Mom comes back down... I still haven’t handed out my presents.” He paused then and grinned. “Which reminds me, come ‘ere, little monster.”   
  
He stuck an awkwardly wrapped package in Angus’ hands with a grin.

Angus’s smug look vanished as he gave a box to Savannah and sat down next to Keats, tearing delightedly into the present.    
  
By now the group was giving up on waiting patiently, and various presents were being exchanged. Magnus leaned forward, grinning in the boy’s’ direction;    
  
“So  _ my _ gift-“ Julia elbowed him, and pulled him into a kiss, both distraction and thanks.

Savannah looked surprised at getting something. She honestly hadn't been expecting it. She set the puppy on the couch so she could open it and then reached around Keats to ruffle Angus' hair.   
  
"Thanks, Angus!"   
  
Barry was paying attention to Julia now, a smile on his face.

Angus crowed delightedly as he opened the stack of Agatha Christie novels,    
“THANKS, [BIG BROTHER]!”   
  
Savannah’s mug said ‘Be the kind of woman that when your feet hit the floor the Devil says ‘oh no,  _ she’s up _ ’    
Angus grinned a little sheepishly at her, “I was looking at it for mom, but-“    
  
As they talked, Maureen, reached forward and touched Barry’s shoulder,    
“Hey, BB, could I grab your ear for a second?”

Barry nodded a little and gestured towards the kitchen.    
  
"It's probably quieter in there. Everything okay, Mo?"

She nodded and followed him, pulling a large envelope out of her bag,    
  
“It’s allll copacetic,” she grinned at him, “just wanted- well, this isn’t  _ your _ Candlenights gift so much as it is the boys’ but- but, I don’t think Keats would like the implication.”   
  
The envelope held a stack of legal forms, all naming certain patents currently in Maureen’s name. Half of them listed Keats as the heir, the other half Angus.    
  
She shrugged, “I donated plenty, but there’s.... these will just be a nice start. Nothing too- too  _ giant _ , you get me?”

For a long moment, Barry said nothing. Then he hugged her tightly.    
  
"Shit, Mo... I..." He couldn't seem to line up his words right away, his thoughts scattered. He hadn't realized until that moment just how much he  _ hadn't _ been thinking about the fact that she was almost his mother's age now, about the fact that she was so much older than he'd been when he died. He didn't know what to say and was almost definitely sending off little waves of anxiety.   
  
"I can't believe you actually..." Then he managed to make himself smile. "Fuck, I wish I could've seen Lucas' face when he found out."   
  
Then he paused. "Thanks, Mo. I'll make sure that... I'll make sure they know, someday. Just not yet."

“Yeah... yeah, not now.” Maureen sighed and rubbed her face, “sorry to spring this on you, BB, I just... I just wanted to feel like  _ something _ decent happened this year...”    
She shook her head at him, “-and don’t  _ look _ at me like THAT, I’m not dropping dead right here. I plan to last plenty longer. At least long enough to field Lucas’s call when he bothers looking up this change... probably tomorrow when he pretends to be a decent son.”   
  
“When who what now?” Lup slipped into the kitchen, concern pinging along their link. She looked much more cheerful, and her face wasn’t quite so flushed anymore, “you two almost done hiding? We’re probably saying the goodbye rounds soon, babe.”

Barry held out the envelope to her, an arm still around Maureen's shoulders.   
  
"I hope you're ready to cry again, babe." He teased just lightly. "Because Mo's really outdone herself this time."   
  
He waited for her to open the envelope and look at the documents inside.   
  
"And to your first question, we uh..." He grinned slowly. "We were talking about Lucas."

Lup’s eyes went wide and she swallowed, but did  _ not _ cry. As she went in to hug Maureen, her eyes went sharp,    
  
“You said he’s calling you tomorrow?”    
  
Maureen’s lips twitched, “oh probably. The holiday will give him a reason to call, and he’ll segue into the stuff I’ve told him I’ll only discuss through my lawyer, it’ll be fun.”    
  
Lup’s mouth tightened, “well, you’re staying over. Don’t argue, you’re coming tomorrow anyway, might as well skip the bad roads, and being alone after that. Or at least being  _ alone _ when you’ve finished getting over it.”    
  
Maureen laughed and leaned into Barry.

 

* * *

"Mami?"   
  
Barry climbed onto the bed where his mother sat up reading. He was just six years old, all skinned knees and messy hair. Marlena Bluejeans smiled at her little boy and held an arm out.    
  
"Is something wrong, liebchen?"   
  
He snuggled down next to and rested his head on her shoulder, hugging his teddy bear close. His new glasses were perched on his face, a gift from a neighbor down the street after they'd realized just how much the poor boy couldn't see.   
  
"Mami, the other kids in the kindergarten were making fun of me again. They said I should have a Daddy but I don't. How come I don't have a Daddy?"   
  
Marlena went quiet for a moment and then set her book down, pulling her son into her lap. She kissed the top of his head and hugged him close.   
  
"You do, mein kleiner Bär." She reached for the picture that always sat on her nightstand, handing it to him...   
  


* * *

  
It was about three in the morning when Barry woke up and he stared up at the ceiling in silence. He took a deep breath, trying to clear his mind. He just... He didn't want to think about this. About the fact that... that everyone he ever knew was going to die someday, except maybe him and Keats and Julia. Fuck, he didn't even know how long elves lived. It had always seemed so long, but now that he had forever stretching out before him as an actual ominous eternity, he wasn't so sure. Eternity, forever, it was just so long. It felt hopeless. He sat up, pulling his knees to his chest, and stared at the wall.

Lup drifted out of sleep feeling anxiety fizzing along her arms. Well, that was nothing new, but as she stretched and turned and tried to send her mind into meditation  _ just _ until it was an hour only  _ slightly _ awful to be heading down to the kitchen, she realized not all of it was  _ her _ nervous energy and Barry’s back was stiff next to her.    
  
“Babe?” She touched him lightly with hand and mind, “S’up? Nightmare?”    
She hadn’t felt him have one, but thankfully the large dramatic ones had receded somewhat between the two of them.

Barry turned at her touch, tears on his cheeks. He tried to wipe his face before she could notice and then he gave her a weak smile.   
  
“Did I wake you? It uh... not a nightmare. Just a... just a memory.” He paused for a moment. “About my mom.”

The movement caught Lup’s eye and she hummed empathy at him, tucking herself against Barry’s chest and shoving her nose up against his throat.    
  
“Nah, was just getting an insomnia visit.” She closed her eyes and starting purring comfort at him, waiting for his shoulders to relax before asking, “good or bad memory?”

He leaned against her and wrapped his arms around her. She was warm and solid in his arms and she felt so right.    
  
“Both?” He sounded choked up, his throat tight. “It was about... I uh... when I was young... when I asked about my dad.”

“Mm?” Her purr deepened and her arms went around him, letting a soft flow of love and comfort move over him. She’d been working harder on letting people take their time saying stuff without bursting in with whatever came into her head. It was.... not as hard with Barry, when she could feel him confused and actively putting his thoughts in order.

Barry closed his eyes for a long moment, just breathing. Then he sighed.   
  
"Sorry, babe. I'm just a mess." He wanted to brush it off as nothing. It was stupid. He shouldn't be wasting his time thinking about... about the hopeless inexorable neverending march of eternity. Fuck.Yeah, no, he needed to talk this one out before it festered.    
  
And then a thought crossed through his mind that made his head snap up. He understood how Edward and Lydia had become who they were at the end.   
  
"This... this is an awful line of thought for Candlenights but...  _ Fuck, _ Lup, how the hell do you watch people you love get older and know you're gonna lose them? Even... even the ones that are younger than you..."

Lup’s purr cut out at that, and she frowned, thinking it over.    
  
“I don’t... I don’t  _ know _ ....” her voice was hesitant, unsure. “I’ve... never  _ had _ to before...”   
  
She thought about Angus, about the compound she and Taako had lived in during the seventies, how all the kids there seemed to shoot up overnight and suddenly were officially adults, leaving the couple elf kids behind in their rush to adulthood and hurrying to make their life  _ something _ .    
  
Angus was less than a decade from that.    
  
She didn’t like that thought much.    
  
“...I’m not much good at being an elf, babe, never had to be around other elves for very long....”

"I never... I'm human but now... Fuck, Lup, Mo is my  _ mother's _ age. And... and... I started thinking about... about..." He tapped his harness. "I'm here  _ forever _ and I started thinking about how long that is and... And then I realized that someday that means I-"   
  
He stopped. He couldn't. He didn't have the words. There was anxiety and fear pouring off of him, love under all of it. There was no mistaking what he was thinking, not with that level of fear and sorrow.   
  
"I guess... I guess I understand now. How they got there, you know? Edward and Lydia, I mean."

Lup squeezed him tight, humming love and reassurance back at him while she lined up her thoughts.    
  
“I mean... yeah.... yeah I get that.... hells, Keats asked me what was gonna stop me becoming Edward, I said I dunno ask me in a couple centuries....”   
  
She pushed her face against Barry’s neck, feeling the chill there that meant he was afraid enough to nearly stop his heartbeat entirely, and sighed.    
“C’mon babe, you’re a mathematician. You  _ know _ there’s numbers we... we just can’t  _ deal _ with, yeah? Our puny mortal minds just  _ can’t _ , and they go all boggled and whimpering.”

Reaching up to cup his face, she kissed him slow and tender, letting her love and assurance move across their bond.    
  
“Here and  _ now _ , we’re here. We deal with what’s  _ here _ and take- take our troubles when they get to us instead of being afraid of them in advance.”

"I just... I'm... I don't..."   
  
_ I don't wanna lose you. _   
  
He held her tight and returned that kiss. He took a breath, trying to kickstart his heartbeat again, and tried to focus on her words. She was right, of course, and he knew that. They had here and now and they had centuries to come, at least. He just... he just needed to push away this fear and be here.   
  
"I love you, Lup."

Barry’s magic reached out and folded over her and Lup shivered; the feeling of carbonated ice was usually comforting, the knowledge that Barry was there and thinking of her. But now it  _ squeezed _ and she felt constricted and suffocated, her power pressed down and down and down-    
  
“ _ Red-! _ ” she was gasping, her lungs tricked into thinking they didn’t have any air.

Barry pulled back immediately, his magic going with him, and he clamped down on his emotions before the spike of fear and confusion that shot through him could get to her. He didn’t know what he’d done, but he didn’t want to compound it.    
  
“Lup?” His voice was quiet, uncertain in the near dark of their room.

Lup pushed away from him across the bed as soon as Barry let her go, breathing in deeply as his magic retreated, and throwing up mental blocks until she could barely feel  _ anything _ of him. Just- just for a  _ moment _ . She just wanted to be  _ alone _ in her head for a moment.    
  
She got her breathing and heartbeat under control, and settled the patterns of her magic, bouncing uncertainly after being restricted.    
  
Slowly, Lup pulled herself INTO herself, ONLY herself and held the position.    
  
Here. The core of her magic her personality where all her bonds and experiences met.    
  
It had... perhaps been too long since she’d done this.    
Centered, she expanded her awareness out, opening their link the thinnest amount, so Barry knew she was there again, and the feelings she  _ sent _ were all that came through.    
  
“I’m here. Kinda... kinda squished me there, a little bit.”

He took a few shaky breaths and then relaxed as he felt her again. Everything was fine. She was right here, their family and friends were downstairs and everything was fine. He didn't need to reach into the future for trouble. Doing that just made more problems, that was obvious.   
  
"Tonight's a mess... I'm sorry, Lup." He stayed where he was, waiting to see if she really was alright.

Lup closed her eyes, expanding her awareness out to the wards, letting herself drift along and count what was Here.    
  
Here was Barry, his form a map of magic, still unsettled with anxiety, but she knew the shape of him as well as her own body at this point.    
  
Here in the next room was Taako, her heart with his magic as familiar as her own heartbeat. 

Here next to him was Kravitz, a deep well of Unknown and cold, but familiar and never once a source of fear. 

Here was Angus, magic acid sharp and still tending to flare outside himself.   
  
Here was the shape of Keats, layers of family power over the structure of what Angus called pine and blood that used to be Edward and was now all that was left of him.    
  
Here were the wards, the seam of herself, Taako, and Barry, now layered upon layered of  _ family _ and-   
  
-And here under it all was the pull and beat of the land, the vague sensation at the back of her mind since their first Beltane together. Her self tied to Barry tied to this.    
  
Slowly she pulled back to her bond to Barry and directed him through this.    
  
“ _ We’re here _ ,” she may have breathed it out loud or inside, but she knew he heard.

Barry felt her pull him along and he dropped into their pooled magic. He could feel the land, could feel the way it had a rhythm like the beating of a heart, could feel the way they were both tied up in it. It was warm and welcoming and it knew her just as strongly as it knew him.   
  
He blinked, opening his eyes on the real world again, and held his hand out to her. He didn’t have words, didn’t really need them either.

Lup laced their fingers together, scooting back to curl into him again, kissing his knuckles.    
  
“We’re here and together now, and we deal with what happens when it does, [beloved]. That’s all anyone can do....”

  
  



	4. Long Night

Keats woke up the next morning to a puppy on his chest, licking his face. Laughing, he caught the pup and sat up.   
  
"Hmmm... I hope Magnus left you food... and a leash. Otherwise, I'm gonna have to get creative."   
  
With puppy under one arm, he looked around to see if anyone else was up who might be able to answer his questions. Then he shrugged and headed for the kitchen.

 

As he walked across the threshold of the kitchen, the muffle charm stopped working and Keats was once again introduced to the Lup and Taako Show at full volume in stereo;    
  
“‘Ko I need the-“   
“Here, Lulu don’t let the syrup burn on the-“   
“I  _ got _ it- MUNCH, THE BACON!”   
“Teach your  _ grandma _ , how are those eggs?”   
“Just need paprika, MICHEN! Good, we’re gonna need your hands, wash ‘em, boyo.”

 

Ears flicking up, Keats held up the puppy who whined, disgruntled at being handled like that.   
  
"I need to take the dog out, Mom! Did Magnus leave a leash or can I just let him out in the yard?"   
  
He tugged his sneakers on and pulled the backdoor open. "I'll help when I get back in."

 

“Just use Starbuck’s, it’s in the shed, LET THEM OUT TOO WHILE YOU’RE THERE-“    
  
The last was yelled as the door slammed behind him.    
  
Angus came wandering through, blinking at the charm, then the chaos. Lup turned on him,    
  
“Taste this please!”   
  
Obediently, he opened his mouth and she popped in a spoonful of warm syrup. Angus’s eyes went wide.    
  
“Not too hot?” He shook his head, “Cool, breakfast in five, feed Tess before she’s a pill.”

 

Barry came wandering down the stairs and into the kitchen, cleaning his glasses with a cloth. He'd been able to hear them from the living room and he had a grin on his face.   
  
"Babe, what decade is it? I thought I was supposed to be the uh... the one who talks like it's still the 50s. It's like... an essential part of my charm."   
  
Taako snorted. "The phrase you're looking for is 'infringing on your brand', nerd."

 

“I’m sure I have  _ no _ idea what  _ either _ of you chucklefucks are talking about-“ Lup sniffed, but her ears were high and pink with amusement.    
  
Angus grinned, pulling the canned food down as Tess wound around his ankles, crying that she had  _ never tasted food in her long life _ .....    
  
“Are those pancakes?”

 

Barry put his glasses on and kissed Lup’s cheek on his way to go get himself a cup of coffee.   
  
“Love you too.” He pulled down a mug and yawned. “I’ll do dishes when you’re done.”   
  
Then he stared out into the yard for a long moment.   
  
“Um... babe? I think our son just got outsmarted by a dog.”

 

Lup  _ and _ Taako stopped what they were doing and peered out the window. Taako started laughing and Lup grinned,    
  
“That’s what they call ‘character building’ right?”

 

The boy in question was on his hands and knees in the snow with the leash wrapped around ankles while the puppy bounced back and forth, yapping excitedly.   
  
Barry chuckled. "Yup. That's about right. You guys already have coffee or do you want me to make you a cup?"

 

“Just make another pot, it’s not a big-“   
  
The basement door opened and Maureen stopped and stared at the crowd in front of her, blinking.    
“....Huh. Can’t hear you for shit down there.”    
  
“I put a muffle charm on it so Keats can sleep better,” Angus piped up from where he was pushing Tess’s bowl under a counter so she wouldn’t get stepped on.   
  
Maureen raised her eyebrows and kept walking through the kitchen, “I see.....”   
  
As she passed through the doorway, Lup made a zipping motion with her hand and Angus felt the charm on the kitchen turn off, just in time for Maureen to call back, “BB, you  _ still _ need another bathroom in this joint!”

 

Barry took a long moment, very carefully adding grounds to the coffeemaker.   
  
“I’m not dignifying that.”   
  
Then he looked around, counting. “We’re short one cryptid. He uh... Kravitz didn’t get called into work, right?”

 

Taako snorted, “nah, the weirdo left at  _ dawn _ to go cut stuff for the wreath. Who leaves the house then?”    
  
“Babe, you were in the kitchen  _ before me _ , you have no room to talk.”    
  
“Yeah, but I didn’t go  _ outside _ , it’s cold out there!”    
  
Lup shoved him, he shoved her back and there was a brief moment of uncertainty as to whether the bacon and eggs would make it to the table.

 

Barry was laughing at that when the back door opened again and the puppy went running through, leash still on.   
  
“Come! Come! Sit? Stop?? Please???”   
  
Keats was a step behind, barely remembering to stop and pull his shoes off but doing absolutely nothing about the snow in his hair as he chased after the dog.

 

Tess arched and  _ hissed _ , letting out a yowl that raised hairs on the back of everyone’s neck including the puppy, which came to a screeching halt in front of her.    
  
He borked tentatively, tail and ears high and alert. Tess growled, fluffed to twice her size and eyes dark with hatred. The puppy took a step forward to see if this was a playmate or toy, and Tess arched forward, still hunched and yowling to get in his face and scream.

 

Keats quickly scooped his new friend up out of Tess’ attack zone and hugged him close. Keats’ ears were pinned back with annoyance as he glared down at the cat.   
  
“No! Bad Tess. He’s a friend. Stop that!”

 

Tess spat, still fluffed up and growling.    
  
“Hey now, she just had her breakfast interrupted by some screaming child, give her a break,” Taako drawled. “It was her house first.”    
  
Slowly, Tess depuffed, walking back to her food bowl, unwilling to delay eating if the danger was past, but throwing hateful looks over her shoulder.    
Lup flicked her fingers at Keats, “c’mon, puppy in the basement, introductions later, breakfast now.”

 

"But... but...  _ Mom!" _   
  
Even as he complained, he went towards the basement door. "He needs his breakfast too, Mom!"   
  
  


“Magnus left the bag of puppy chow in the corner, feed him  _ downstairs _ .”   
  
Taako snorted amusement and muttered something in their road pidgin that made Lup yank his ear. There was another brief scuffle, this time without food being endangered.    
  
Keats reappeared just long enough to grab the bag of puppy chow and a bowl from the cabinet and then headed back down, shouting. "I'm coming! I promise! Puppy breakfast incoming!"

 

Barry just shook his head. "Remember when we joked about... about having a zoo, babe? I think we're getting real close to that."   
  
He reached for her mug, topping it off and then pulled down one of his mugs for Maureen. It was a bright blue one with the NASA logo on the side and the dates of the moon landing on the other that he'd ordered from their gift shop. He still thought the entire idea of  _ NASA _ having a gift shop was just so damn silly but he loved it because he could just keep ordering stuff from there. Even if Lup joked that half his wardrobe said NASA on it now.

  
Maureen came back in then, looking much more cheerful and with a better color than she had the night before.    
  
“Aw, thanks, BB....”

 

Barry handed her the mug. "Morning, Mo. You look a world of better. Sleep that good? If you want, we can uh... we can always have Ango drop those same wards on your room at home. They're pretty good, right?"

 

Maureen shook her head, grinning slightly,    
“Might take you up on that...just feels a lot.... safer here, I suppose.”   
  
Angus sat down and started stacking pancakes into separate piles, reaching for both syrups, before glancing up at the same time as Lup and Taako,    
  
“Krav’s back!”    
  
Lup looked out the west facing window, towards the woods and there was in fact a figure walking towards the house. For a moment the shadows behind him cast by the weak winter sun seemed to stretch much farther than one small humanoid shape should cast.... then they snapped back to normal and it was just Kravitz and a load of tree boughs on one arm and a-   
  
“Where the  _ fuck _ did he get a machete?  _ We _ don’t have one...”

 

Barry leaned against her shoulder, staring out the window.    
  
"That uh... that's a  _ really _ good question. Taako, does your boyfriend just like...  _ have _ a machete?"   
  
Keats finally slammed up the stairs and dropped into his usual seat, grabbing for pancakes. Then he stopped and got up. "Did you still want a hand? Because I can wash my hands..."

 

Lup waved a hand, “eat first, we’ll press gang you later. Babe, why  _ don't _ we have a machete?”   
  
  


"Because we... um... you know, I have  _ no _ good reason for us to not have a machete other than  _ maybe _ because kids? Also, knowing Tess, we'd end up with like... a cat running around with a machete. And I don't know about you, but that sounds dangerous?"   
  


Lup pointed at Angus, “Tess will only be able to carry it around if Ango gives her thumbs or something.”   
  
“ _ Wings _ ,” mumbled Angus through half a pancake.

 

Kravitz reached the door then, dropping his load of branches and kicking the snow off his boots. Lup opened the door for him as Taako started making a plate,    
  
“Hey Krav, where’d the machete come from and where can I get one?”

  
Kravitz blinked a few times and then looked down at the machete in his hand. "From my car?"

 

“Cool cool. Coolcoolcool..... _ why _ do you have a machete in your car, out of interest?” 

 

"For work?" Kravitz seemed confused that Lup was questioning this. Then he went to go put said machete back in his car.   
  
Barry gave Lup a long look.    
  
"Lup. Babe. Love of my life and afterlife. You doubt that our cat can carry a machete in her mouth?"

 

Lup gave both these statements the due consideration they deserved, nodded, and went to make herself a plate,    
  
“You both make excellent points, and I still want one.”   
  
Breakfast was not a hurried affair, all the longer cooking projects had been finished the night before and dinner was going to be more of a buffet style.    
  
When all the bacon was eaten, Lup set Keats to washing dishes and shooed everyone else but Taako out of the kitchen to either prep the fire pit out front or find something  _ else _ to do.    
  
Maureen was about to ask for  _ some _ task at least when her phone rang. Looking at it, she made a face and went out the back door.

 

Keats looked up when Maureen's phone rang and frowned, ears flicking down at the look on her face. He hoped whatever it was wasn't too bad. He glanced at Lup and Taako and then back towards the door.

 

Lup and Taako were deep in discussion of whether pre make sandwiches with the left over turkey, or simply slice it and allow people to make their own (“I’ve  _ seen _ what your man considers sandwiches, Lup,  _ this turkey deserves better- _ ”) as Maureen paced the yard in a circle.    
  
Her face was mostly weary as she talked, nodding along, occasionally nudging a lump of snow to check if it was a rock. Then her face went blank, stopping at the corner of the house, just on the edge of the window above the sink, her voice drifting through,    
  
“-afraid that is something you have to discuss with my attorney.”   
  
Her mouth tightened and her free arm wrapped around her body, breath curling in the air as she stared into the middle distance.    
  
“As I said, you’ll have to discuss that through my attorney. Thank you for the call, Happy Ca-“ she frowned.    
  
“-tried that tack already, and it didn’t  _ work _ , dear. I’m not-“ she scowled harder. “AS I SAID. Through my attorney.”   
  
She ended the call and looked almost like she was going to throw her phone before wrapping both arms around herself and taking another lap around the yard. When she came back to the door, her face was pleasantly blank and cheerful again.

 

Keats set the dish he was working on in the drying rack, wiped his hands, and looked up.   
  
"Everything okay, Mo?"   
  
He was still a little awkward around Maureen, still trying to figure out how he fit with his friend. He was getting a bit better at dealing with the abstract concept of mortality, largely thanks to his therapist who was more than happy to talk about the subject, but that didn't mean he knew how a teenage boy could possibly pick back up a friendship that had been dropped on the floor fifty years ago. Did they even have anything in common anymore? But he was trying.

 

Maureen leaned against the doorway, jaw flexing, tense enough that Lup and Taako stopped their argudiscussion to turn and look at her.    
  
“ _ Fine _ . Shoibag of a son doing my fucking nut in, nothing unusual.” She took a deep breath and smiled more real at Lup, “Got anything to keep an old woman’s hands busy?”

 

Keats' ears flicked back for a moment. There was the other stumbling block. Lucas. He didn't like the man one bit, would absolutely have shoved him in a locker in school, but he was also Maureen's son. But he had almost killed Dad. His ears settled in a neutral position and he picked up another dish, doing his best to keep his tongue behind his teeth where it would keep him out of trouble. Even if he wanted to send Lucas Miller on a long walk down a short pier. Preferably one with sharks at the end of it.

 

Lup’s ears had eased back as well, and she didn’t bother neutralizing them,    
  
“You gonna be okay-?”   
  
Maureen gave her a firm look that sent her ears down in brief apology before tilting up,    
  
“We’re full up here, but there’s still the wreath to make out front.”    
  
Maureen nodded and moved to the front of the house. As soon as she was out of hearing range, Lup yanked the fridge open to pull out turkey for slicing, ears flat.    
  
“[Think she’d mind if I burned holes in the back of all his pants?]”

 

"[That's  _ mild.]" _ Keats' ears flicked straight into anger the moment Maureen was gone. "[I've been contemplating murder.]"

 

"[Oh he'd be  _ in _ them, for  _ sure _ ,]" Lup grabbed a knife and started slicing with efficient viciousness.   
  
Angus was helping Barry dig the firepit when Maureen stepped out on the porch, with a  _ shovel _ not magic, because Dad  _ insisted _ , and it was....more fun than he'd actually thought.    
  
Kravitz had found another, smaller knife and was trimming the branches he'd collected to easily weavable lengths, Maureen sat on the bench opposite him, plenty of room given, glancing between the three of them.   
  
"Anything I can help with? Bit at loose ends at the moment."

 

Kravitz looked up and then back down at the pile of branches he'd already trimmed.    
  
"If you wanted to start weaving..."   
  
Barry nodded. "Yeah, that's a way better idea than what I was gonna suggest because uh...  _ somehow _ I figure you're not feeling helping us dig a pit. But uh... I mean, if you  _ are, _ we've got another shovel."

 

Maureen grinned and picked up some branches, and the spool of string on the table,    
  
“Don’t think I wouldn’t either. Now are we doing a burning of the old things or hope for the new?”    
  
“Both,” Angus said instantly, hacking at the side of the pit, trying to make the cold ground slice off, “one for midnight and one for dawn.”    
  
Maureen raised her eyebrows and tied two boughs together to start her weave, “I’ve never heard of it done that way before.”   
  
“Mom says it’s been  _ that _ kind of year and she’s not taking any fuckin’ chances.”

 

Barry snorted at that. "Yeah, pretty much. That and, and Angus don't you go repeating this, but Lup is a little bit of uh... of a pyro. And I think she just likes lighting fires."   
  
He looked towards the house, a tender smile on his face. "Not to imply that I object. It uh... I mean, I love her more than anything but that in no way changes the fact that she's absolutely a pyro."   
  
Kravitz chuckled quietly and kept his opinions on that matter to himself.

 

By the time everyone’s hands had started to go numb (well, Maureen’s and Angus’s) Lup sent Keats outside with jugs of hot tea and cider. Maureen flexed her hands and frowned as her phone buzzed again, as it had been doing every so often.    
  
Angus happily dropped his shovel and went for the cider, proudly showing Keats his side of the fire pit.

 

Keats handed Angus a mug of cider and ruffled his hair.   
  
"Looking good, [little brother.] Think you're almost done?"

 

“I hope so, my dogs are barkin’”    
  
Maureen looked up at that, eyes crinkling in amusement before very studiously looking down to clip the last bit of string on her wreath before reaching for her tea.    
  


 

After a little while, Barry sent Angus off to take a nap ("Gotta go make sure you've got enough juice to last all night, kiddo.") and went to put the shovels away. He found himself standing in the backyard, his hands in his pockets as he looked out at the yard. The urge to walk the boundaries was growing in him and he wasn't sure why.

 

The kitchen door opened and Lup stepped out, coat on but not buttoned, boots on with laces flapping, her cheeks and ears flushed from heat and excitement. Walking to his side, she leaned into his shoulder, eyes wandering over the forest line,    
  
“You wanna go for a walk?”

 

He smiled and offered his arm. "It's weird... I was just thinking about that."   
  


Lup leaned down to lace her boots before taking his arm, only half doing up her coat. For once she was warm enough.    
  


Barry headed towards the back of the property first, where the woodline met the backyard. "Sometimes it's... it's hard to believe it's only been like... a year and change, you know? All of this just feels so right and... and like its how everything is supposed to be."

  
“Everything kinda happened real fast and suddenly this is the new normal.”   
  
The snow was crisscrossed with rabbit and bird prints, up to the tree line where it was more scattered in large lumps that had fallen off the trees.    
  
Lup noticed that Kravitz’s tracks from that morning were still there and nothing had walked over them since.

 

"It's good though. I mean, it's not what I would've uh... pictured? Like if someone had told me when I was 20 that this would be my life? Honestly, I probably would've asked them how uh... how hard they'd been hitting the acid. But I don't think I've been as happy as I am here, with you and the boys, since... since I was a kid? And even then, it's hard to compare."   
  
He looked out into the woods for a long moment and then turned, a smile on his face as he looked around at their yard, their house, their garden, lying dormant under the snow.   
  
"And even with everything? All the shit? I wouldn't give any of it up because it led to... to here."

 

“Well, who among us has  _ any _ idea what life looks like at twenty....” Lup squeezed his arm and bumped her head against his, not daring to kiss him at this temperature. “Nerd. Love you.”    
  
She had opened their bond from the thin trickle it was the night before back to almost what it normally was, a consistent running background of the other’s current mood, and her  _ affectionlovefondness _ moved across to him.

 

"Love you too."   
  
The day was peaceful, quiet even. Though Barry still felt a little odd, like a toy train on a track being guided in a path as they walked the boundary lines of the property. The land hummed under his feet and he stretched his magic downwards and was surprised when he felt the land reach back. He knew he was connected to it, he'd known the land knew her, but now he was realizing just how thoroughly they were both tied to this land, this place, their home.

 

Lup felt it too, felt their steps move into sync as they walked. She was thinking of long long ago way back tales when she and Taako were young and learning their House name and the history behind it. There were  _ always _ family members like this, the heirs not to run the Family so much as the land itself. Back in the Old Times before they came north.    
  
She stared at her feet crunching in the snow, feeling the tug under her boots.    
  
“Wish we coulda met your dad. Just... just feels like there’s probably, uh, probably other shit we should be, be  _ doing _ ... solstice and equinoxes yeah, but like.... I dunno....”

 

Barry nodded a little at that. "Yeah... I mean, I only know what uh... what my Mom told me when I was a kid. I didn't even realize he had magic until Angus and Keats were pulling his stuff out of the attic. I don't even know how long they lived here. Just that my dad built the house."   
  
He was silent for a long while and then he nudged her.    
  
"We could always do some uh... some genealogy if you're down for a library trip. At least get an idea of if there's something in there other than German."

 

“Yeah.... that might be good. See if there’s a specific local First Nations band we ought to ask.... could also just try Savannah’s family, they’ve probably been here long enough.”    
  
The sun was setting behind them as they turned back to the house, making a complete circle. Lup could feel the cold  _ on _ her cheeks, but she wasn’t cold at all. She felt... energized. Ready.    
  
“Time to get that bonfire going, babe.”

 

He nodded and then turned to kiss her cheek.   
  
“I’m still not convince you don’t just like bonfires,” he teased as they head towards the front yard.    
  
Keats was sitting on the steps, all but bouncing. He wanted to get this show on the road so they could go in and eat more.

 

“ _It’s a tradition going back eons, Barry Jacob Bluejeans-!”_   
  
Angus came out of the door, looking sleepy and rumpled.   
  
“What’d you do? The wards were all humming and happy?”

 

Barry laughed, hugging her tightly. Then he looked over at Angus, confused.   
  
“They were? We just... walked around?”   
  
But then he closed his eyes and felt around. Angus was right, the wards were stronger and more alive and more tied down.

 

Angus nodded, going over to lean against Lup as the only one of them who was warm,    
“Tess started purring so loud she woke me up.”   
  
He blinked at the light and turned to look at the sunset, “Are we starting now?”    
  
Lup grinned, pulling him closer and sending a pulse of warmth down her arm for him, “yeah, gotta get that going before the light’s gone. C’mon, michen, you’re the one who knows about stacking wood around here.” She jerked her head at Keats and walked to the fire pit with another squeeze of Angus’s shoulders.

 

Keats stood up and jogged over to help Lup stack the wood. Barry looked down at Angus and then frowned a little.   
  
"Where's your hat? You're gonna catch a cold, bud."

 

“I’unno, I just woke up,” Angus leaned against the railing, watching Lup and Keats stack wood and feeling as Lup called up heat from under the earth to light the fire.    
  
It crackled to life just as the last of the sun went over the back of the forest, streaking the clear sky in pinks and purples.

 

Barry pointed back towards the door. "Coat and hat, young man. If you get too hot, you can take them off again. But you're not coming back out here without them."

 

Angus grumbled and moved back to the door, satisfied with seeing the fire lit at least,    
  
“You’re displaying favoritism in enforcing rules towards Keats just because  _ he’s _ dead!”

 

"And when you're a ghost, you can not wear a coat outside as much as you want." Barry shot back, trying not to grin.

 

“This family is a fuckin’  _ nightmare _ ,” Angus came out again, coat on, but not zipped as he yanked his hat on, “I’m gonna be a, a  _ vengeful mummy _ and spite you all.”    
  
Kravitz followed him outside in time to hear this last and gave Angus a mild look,    
  
“Please don’t.”

 

Barry laughed at that and went to join Lup.   
  
"I'd be sort of impressed if you did, if I'm being totally honest. That uh... that's a level of commitment. The whole uh... mummification process."   
  
Keats made a face. "Mom, Dad's being weird again."

 

“‘Again’ implies he ever stopped,” Lup replied absently, more focused on arranging the logs into a long term arrangement that satisfied her.    
  
When she was pleased enough with it, she looked over the assembled group and clapped her hands,    
“Who gets first watch?”    
-

  
As the winter night settled over them, the house filled again, Davenport and Merle arriving with mead and wine, Lucretia with MORE wine and decorations for the wreath, and June was dropped off and summarily introduced “the smartest kid in our class.”    
  
Both wreaths were added to, one with tokens from the year, the other with pieces of paper tied to it with wishes written on them. And small gold paper coins, since money may not buy happiness but it would sure help things  _ stay _ happy when you got there.

 

Over the next several hours, they told stories, sang songs and played games. There was food and drink and somewhere along the way, Keats even managed to get himself a drink of  _ something, _ though he didn’t much like it.    
  
Barry had snuck inside for a moment and up to his workroom to grab the small box he’s hidden there. He’d need it for dawn. Running his fingers over the smooth wood, he wondered if his father had made that too. And the answer came back as clearly as if it had been shouted in his ear: yes, of course.   
  
They were closing in on midnight now and Barry was feeling giddy with energy and caught Lup in his arms.    
  
“Should’ve brought out the radio. We could dance.”

 

“Exactly  _ how _ loud do you think Taako would yell for us to go to our room if we did?” Lup was laughing as she draped over him, pressing her face against his and never minding the cold.    
“-Actually I take that back, I don’t think he’s noticing anyone but Krav tonight.”   
  
The aforementioned Taako was currently across the fire in Kravitz’s lap, an ignored wine glass on the empty chair next to him, his face open and happy as they talked about something in low voices.    
  
The firelight always did odd things to Kravitz’s shadow, and his profile was looking sharper and uncanny through the smoke. It would have been a terrifying image if it weren’t for the utterly besotted look in his eyes as he cupped Taako’s cheek and murmured something that had Taako nodding and getting up.    
Hand in hand they wandered outside the ring of light.

 

Barry laughed and kissed her lightly, humming his little human purr. He dropped his hands to her hips.   
  
“Could always dance without the music.” He kissed her again. “Just make our own, you know?”   
  
He was so excited, so very happy here with her. Long Night was full of that same manic energy that had characterized Beltane for him, but without the alarming suddenly being alive-ish parts. Instead, he just felt Right. That in and of itself was a gift and it was one he wasn’t going to squander.

 

“Can we burn the wreath before you make out!?” Angus was holding said wreath between him and June as they went over the many tokens of things people had tied to it to say goodbye to or thank the year for.    
  
Maureen shook herself from staring into the fire and dug in her pocket, pulling out a small scrap of paper,    
“Oh hold on, let me add-“

 

Barry chuckled quietly and kissed Lup again.    
  
“Or maybe later.”   
  
Then he turned towards Angus. “Alright, brilliant son of mine who I uh... I bet has done his research, wanna walk us through this?”

 

Angus puffed up slightly, which made June giggle. He glanced at her and grinned, as Maureen tied what looked like a small photo on the wreath.    
  
“We’re just supposed to ask the year to please take this away when it leaves, so we can stop sorrowing and thank it for the joy. It’s not  _ hard _ .”

 

Barry grinned. "Perfect. So, should we start?"   
  
Keats was staying near Lup, his hands in his pockets as he stared into the flames. He was nervously excited for this. It was going to be his first real ritual with his family instead of being the unwilling participant in two prior. And honestly, those probably weren't even very good examples of what the holidays were supposed to be like. Every so often, he looked at the wreath. He knew what he'd added and he could see what Dad had added right beside it. It wasn't surprising that they'd done nearly the same thing. His was a picture of him as a child with Edward and Lydia, his ears too big for his face and his hair long and unruly. Keats looked away from the wreath, staring back into the flames.

 

Lup felt more of that inner warmth growing as she looked around the fire; Barry on her left hand, Keats to her right, Angus after him, still holding the wreath with June, whose face had gone solemn.    
  
She frowned slightly as she counted again and didn’t see Taako or Kravitz. Oh well. They were probably making out by a tree or something. The dawn was more important to have everyone and they’d already added to the wreath.    
  
Smoothing her face out, she glanced at Merle and grinned,    
  
“Think your mead cup is big enough for everyone, old man?”    
  
Merle beamed back at her, “Ehn.... just brought an extra jug for this.”

 

Barry reached for Lup's hand. "So... does uh... does someone wanna say something or do we just chuck that bad boy right on there? I don't actually know what I'm doing. I just fake it real good."   
  
Keats laughed. "Here's hoping all this bullshit from last year is gone for good. Don't even wanna see it in the rearview."

 

Merle poured a portion out into the fire and raised his jug,    
“Go to your rest, old year, we had us a time... don’t wanna see you ‘round these fuckin’ parts again.” He took a swig from the jug and passed to to Maureen, who looked surprised but took it.    
  
Lup laughed, squeezing Barry’s hand, “toss that straight on there, kiddos- fuckANDBACKUP AFTER-!”    
  
June and Angus had thrown with a will and a shower of sparks flew into the air- and hit a shimmering wall as Lucretia held up a hand, smirking,    
“Forget something about pine branches, Lup?”

 

Keats was still laughing and he put a hand up to cover his eyes. He already felt better, honestly. Just knowing he was safe to put all of that behind him did a lot to help in the long run. Then he turned and looked over at Maureen and shot her a thumbs up.   
  
Barry looked surprised at the shower of sparks but relaxed as the shimmering wall went up. "Thanks, Luce. Kids, you good?"

 

“That was COOL!” June pressed her hand to the shimmering barrier, looking awed, “we get to do it again at dawn, right?”    
  
Maureen laughed, real and full bodied, head thrown back, and only just managed to get ahold of herself enough to take a swing from the jug and pass it to Lucretia,    
“Here’s to leaving dead weight in the old year!”

 

Barry nodded. "Here here! And uh... and  _ several _ years before that." He turned and kissed Lup on the cheek. "I won't lie, I'm more excited about the uh... the dawn and the hope and new year parts of this."   
  
Keats nodded with vehement agreement. Part of him wanted to go sneak inside for a bit and grab his phone. He wanted to see how Savannah's night was going. Maybe send her some pictures. At least send her a selfie with the bonfire. But instead he kicked the toe of his sneaker against the snow and wondered what she'd thrown into the fire.

 

“Yeah, but this is mostly to get our second wind before that. Gotta rally for those horrible two and three ams-  _ No _ , Angus, pass the mead  _ through _ -“   
  
As Angus protested that he’d had it before and it wasn’t a big deal, the wards  _ flexed _ from underneath, with the distinctiveness of Taako’s magic, and Lup spun suddenly in the direction he and Kravitz had gone, ears standing on end.

 

Barry's head snapped up at the sudden strangeness in the wards and then looked over as well.    
  
"What uh... what was that? Should we go check on them?"   
  
He looked back at Lup, uncertain. He didn't particularly like the idea that something could have gotten inside the wards that Taako would have had to throw magic at. And that was all he could feel, a sudden fluctuation of Taako's magic with no apparent reason behind it.   
  
Keats didn't notice a thing. He'd grabbed the mead from Angus and taken a nice long swig before passing it on. After a moment, he made a face, deciding he didn't like that any more than the beer he'd snuck from Dad's stash earlier.

 

Lup took a step back out of the circle, ears still up, as most of the crew started craning their necks in the same direction as the magic flare as well.    
  
There was the sound of footsteps, and- eventually- Taako’s distinctive laughter, the kind where he was having trouble making noise, he was laughing so hard.    
  
“Taaaa....ko...? You good, Munch?” Lup’s ears eased slightly out of alarm to curious.    
  
“Y-yeah, yeah fan- uhhhh fan-fuckin’- _ tastic _ , Just uh-“ he glanced at Kravitz, who was smiling at him like he was the only thing in the world that mattered. “Just, just uhhhh, kinda got  _ engaged _ right now, no  _ big _ deal-“    
  
Lup  _ shrieked _ and rounded the fire to throw herself on both of them.

 

Barry froze, one hand going to his pocket. Well  _ fuck. _ So much for his plans. He was trying very hard to just be happy for Taako, shoving aside his own... what? Frustration? Disappointment? Annoyance? A mix of the three. Then he remembered the bond and closed it down, hoping his emotions hadn't leaked to Lup, or at least that she hadn't noticed. Gods, she was so happy for Taako. And he was too, definitely. Definitely. Just... why tonight, dammit?

 

Lup was far too caught up in wrapping Taako in a hug, followed by throwing an arm around Kravitz because “you were family before now it’s just  _ official-! _ ”   
  
Kravitz’s mild protests that they were not, in fact, legally bound yet was derailed by Taako flashing his hand at Lup with a “whaddya call  _ this _ then?”   
  
That was when Magnus plowed into them and the hugging train kept going.    
  
Angus looked at the huge pile of laughing, chattering, crying? Yes, Magnus and Lup were crying, adults, and shrugged to himself. June was looking curious but uncomfortable, so he took her hand and went to tug at Barry’s sleeve,    
  
“We can go inside now, right?”

 

Barry smiled down at the kids, the expression only slightly forced. "Uh... yeah, yeah. But not to bed yet. We've gotta stay up until-"   
  
"I'm going to call Savannah!" And Keats was  _ gone, _ running towards his room.    
  
Barry sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "We've still gotta stay up til dawn, okay?"

 

Angus grinned innocently, “that’s fine, I was just gonna show June the science kit Mom got me for Candlenights. We won’t make a mess-“    
  
And then he was booking it for the house, telling June, “so there’s  _ five _ non magical ways of blowing shit up-“

 

Barry followed as far as the porch, yelling after them. "Make sure you clean up after yourself and don't scare your brother!"   
  
Then he had no distractions left. The kids were all inside and everyone else was celebrating with Taako. Alright. He was a grown man and he could be annoyed that his super secret plans had been upstaged later. Right now, he could focus on being happy for his friend. He walked around the fire and smiled.   
  
"Congratulations, Taako, Kravitz."

 

Taako beamed at him, looking reluctant to let go of either Kravitz or Lup and settling on Lup to throw an arm around Barry's neck,    
  
" _ Barold _ , buddy,  _ mein Freund _ ,  _ please _ make your jeans at  _ least _ black so Magnus doesn't rip his tux sleeves off."   
  
Kravitz resettled his arm around Taako's waist, "You're skipping over several sentences, love." looking away  _ from _ Taako with extreme reluctance  to Barry he smiled. A small smile for anyone who wasn't Kravitz, on his face it looked like he might crack with joy.

 

Barry blinked a few times and then looked at Lup and then back at Taako. "You uh... you wanna fill in the rest of those sentences because right now I'm trying to figure out what my pants have to do with Magnus' sleeves?"

 

Lup tweaked Taako's ear, "Munch, siddown, you're half cracked and fully blitzed." As Kravitz moved them both to their previously abandoned chairs, and everyone dispersed out of the huddle they'd formed, Lup draped over Barry and pushed her face in his neck, purring softly,   
  
"I  _ think _ he was asking you to be a groomsman? Opposite Magnus? Or maybe on the same side? Corraling Magnus and setting a good example of formalwear was the point of that one, I  _ think _ ."   
  
She giggled, " _ Gods _ , he's going to be  _ insufferable _ ...."

 

Barry nodded a little and then gave himself a little shake. What was he even doing? It wasn't like she was going to disappear on him and the boys. He leaned against Lup and laughed.    
  
"You mean more than normal?" His tone was back to his normal teasing tone. "And if that  _ was _ what you were asking, Taako, I'd be honored but I don't think that uh... I don't think anyone short of Julia can  _ actually _ control Magnus."

 

" _ Damn _ straight! She's got a way meaner right hook than  _ you _ , Barry, and she's prettier!" Magnus thought about the last minute as Julia laughed and hit his arm, "-wait...did you just ask us  _ both _ to be groomsman?  _ Taako- _ "   
  
Lup grinned and drifted for a moment, pressed against Barry, and giddy with happiness and the swelling of affection for  _ everyone _ here and possibly from the mead and wine before that and-   
  
She caught herself, blinking out of an almost doze, "Ah fuck, I gotta sit down and warm up again...."

 

Barry smiled a little, deciding he might as well show off just a bit. "I've got you, Lup." His tone was soft and tender as he scooped her up in his arms and walked back towards the fire. There were definitely some perks to physics being optional and this was rapidly becoming his favorite one.   
  
He dropped into a chair near the fire, settling her in his lap. "Better?"

 

Lup wiggled into a comfortable position, making sure Barry's arms were around her to her satisfaction before grabbing and twisting some heat out of the heart of the fire to pull into both of them.    
  
" _ My _ nerd has better  _ padding _ ......"   
  
The next few hours passed quietly, everyone fighting off the urge to sleep, or in Merle's case; looking as if he HAD until someone tried to poke him awake at which point he spoke with a VERY firm and clear voice, and no one was sure if the snore after was a fake.   
  
Gradually, Lup looked up at the clear sky and saw the first dim clues of dawn.    
  
"Guess I should figure out where the kids went. They won't wanna miss this."

 

"Inside, Keats was uh... calling Savannah and Angus was showing June how to blow shit up with his chemistry set. His words, by the way."   
  
He was perfectly, completely, and utterly awake. So was Julia, who kept having to poke Magnus to keep him awake and upright. Barry kissed Lup's cheek, still holding her tight.    
  
"Wanna go grab them or should I?"

 

"Both of these things require me moving, though....." Lup leaned her head back over his shoulder, enjoying the barest  lukewarm heat of him after hours of absorbing her body heat and the fire. Moving meant acknowledging things like cramped muscles and bathroom breaks and removing the feeling of Barry's arms around her and the perfect equilibrium of the world around them.   
  
An owl flew by, just barely a silhouette in the pre dawn light, but its hunting screech made her ears twitch and she groaned, peeling herself up.   
  
" _ Fine _ , fine....."

 

He was laughing as he helped her up and then followed her towards the door. "If you find Ango and June, I'll go grab Keats. What do you bet Ango's fast asleep somewhere?"

 

After a quick pit stop in the bathroom, Lup knocked on Angus’s door before opening it. As predicted, he and June were sprawled, puppy like, on the floor, with various bits of colored powder in cups around them. What looked like a purple tube of foam took up a good three foot square between them and Lup couldn’t help but feel impressed.    
  
“Up and at ‘em, kiddos, the new year waits for no one.”    
  
Angus jolted awake, rubbing his face and looking for his glasses,    
“Wasn’t- wasn’t asleep, I swear-“

 

Keats wasn't hard to find. He wasn't even down in his room. He was sitting on the floor with his back against the wall in the kitchen with his tablet propped up against his knees.   
  
"Yeah, no, that sounds great. When do you go on break again?"

 

Barry dropped onto the floor next to Keats and leaned into the frame.   
  
"Morning, Savannah. Keats has to go."   
  
"DAD!"   
  
Keats was bright red, his ears sticking straight back. Savannah waved on the screen of his tablet, some sort of ritual being set up behind her.   
  
"Hi Mr. Bluejeans! Yeah, I've gotta go too. Have fun Keats. Love you!"   
  
"Love you too, Savannah." Keats' blush deepened as the call ended and he looked up at Barry. "You're so embarrassing, you know that?"   
  
Barry ruffled Keats' hair. "Just doing my job."

 

There was the sound of clattering feet as June and Angus pulled on coats and hats and Lup leaned into the kitchen,    
  
“Whatcha think, babe, start some coffee for the people driving home?”

 

"Yeah, I can do that. Assuming Taako will drink our coffee like a  _ commoner." _   
  
He was definitely feeling better after several hours of snuggling by the fire. The casual normalcy, even on a day like today, meant a lot to him. He got himself up off the floor again with a wince. If he ever figured out how to modify his physical form, he was definitely going to make himself like five years younger. Just enough that his back wasn't as stiff some mornings.    
  
He pulled out the coffee and got a pot going while Keats grabbed mugs for everyone who would need one.

 

“ _ Please _ , he’s making Kravitz drive anyway, he’s not touching our pleb stuff....”   
  
Lup tossed her coat on, not bothering with a hat. She felt warm from the inside out and entirely contented.    
  
The group was slowly stirring, moving in and out of the house as various people took turns in the bathroom and boy she  _ really _ needed to put her foot down on that one.    
  
Merle and Lucretia were stoking up the fire, Merle throwing handfuls of dried herbs into it and sending up puffs of aromatic smoke.    
  
Taako was talking quietly to Angus and June, clearly just barely awake, and leaning into Kravitz, who was staring in the direction of the road with a thoughtful look on his face.    
  
Lup came up on Taako’s other side and bumped her head against his,    
  
“We have coffee if you need it, Munch ~”

 

Taako shook his head a little, eyes half closed. "Gonna meditate in the car. My man's driving."   
  
Barry had found the old tray he  _ knew _ was in one of these cabinets and carried it out with mugs on it. Keats was behind him with the coffee pot. He yawned a little, ears flicking down as he did. "What now? Do we burn more stuff?"   
  
Taako looked up a little at Keats' voice and then elbowed Lup. "Yup, he's your kid alright. Another fuckin' pyro."

 

Lup sniffed and wiped away a fake tear, “I’m so  _ proud _ of him....”   
  
The sky had lightened more and there were a few occasional chirps of winter birdsong. The coffee helped enormously and the volume of the ambient chatter went up as feeling was stamped back into toes and fingers and the fire was crackling merrily.    
  
Flicking her finger and calling directions, Lup herded everyone into a proper circle, feeling the beginnings of an excited pulse under her feet. She glanced at Barry and sent him a curious ping.

 

Barry was staring down at the ground under his feet, feeling almost the same surge of magic that he had the night before when they’d walked the boundaries. He felt heavy, solid, grounded.   
  
Turning to her at the ping, he smiled and nodded. She felt it too then. It felt familiar and comfortable.

 

Lup relaxed, _that_ was alright then. The sun was sending threads of light over the horizon and it was time to start.  
  
Angus felt something like the first time he saw the ocean, like some big was looming under his feet, old and _exciting_. He bounced on the balls of his feet, hand gripping his side of the wreath as Merle said another blessing, he could feel everyone _else’s_ excitement too.   
  
And _then he was part of the pattern. Turning he could feel the rotation of the earth sun and moon moving their eternal dance overhead living being moving and living and mating and feeding their offspring and dying in a constant spiral. The same and moving forward._  
  
 _He looked to his left and Keats was there and Mom and Dad and a silver haired woman after Dad and a man with a large beard and kind eyes and a sharp eyed woman after him and on and on and on-_   
  
Keats nudged him and Angus blinked into his body again as June lifted her side of the wreath to throw it.

 

Barry felt an odd calm settle over him and for just a moment, he could have sworn he heard just a snatch of song. He’d heard the same back on Samhain night when he’d been up late. It was so familiar, but he couldn’t quite remember. Couldn’t quite place it.   
  
As the wreath landed in the flames and sparks flew, the flames blazed higher for a moment, turning almost a blue color for just a moment.    
  
Barry exhaled slowly. “Segen und Glück im neuen Jahr.” He didn’t quite sound like himself, his voice was lighter, a bit distant. And then it was gone and he smiled.

 

Lup glanced at him, heart light and for a moment she saw a line of people stretching out into the horizon-    
  
And then the sun came over the trees, laughing in triumph over the long night and there was only her family here; cold and tired but happy, their hopes and dreams for the coming year floating on heated air currents into the dawn.   
  
She slung an arm around Keats’ shoulders, squeezing Barry’s hand.    
“ _ Next _ year I’m going to fiddle the sun up, just you fuckin’ wait.”

 


	5. Chapter 5

Barry was sitting on the edge of the bed with his laptop on his lap, staring at the same damn travel advice site he’d been reading for the last hour. Now, he’d taken a flight before, once or twice. It’d been a big deal but not like this seemed to be. Back then, it had been mostly just exciting. These days it seemed like he had to worry about every little thing. Get there hours early, no liquids, horror stories about airport security, making sure you didn’t get bumped to another flight when they overbooked it, all kinds of things. And that didn’t even touch on trying to travel with kids. He was pretty sure Keats hadn’t been a civilian airplane ever, which added a whole extra set of things to worry about. And there was the distinct possibility that some idiot might touch his harness, like had happened to Julia. The difference was that Julia had dramatically gone poltergeist and all but destroyed a security station. He would fade away instead, and he was still having nightmares about that.   
  
Taking a breath, he reached for the glass of water that he’d emptied ten minutes ago and was only just now realizing was, in fact, empty.

 

Lup came in and tossed a plastic bag on the bed beside him,    
  
“Okay, those are  _ your _ copies of Ango’s papers, and mine are in my carry on, and I think I’m the only one not fully packed because Keats barely uses anything, and I’m going to check Angus’s book weight tomorrow and Susan apparently doesn’t NEED the key for the weekend, and Magnus drives us all to the airport tomorrow, and- and am I forgetting anything?”

 

Barry took a breath and skimmed the notes he’d been taking as he went through the site.   
  
“Did uh... did we get that ID or whatever Noelle was sending so I can get this thing,” he tapped the harness, “through security? Plus uh... let’s see... this says Angus should have copies of all this too, plus something with our names and contact stuff. And gum to help with inner ear pressure? Is that a thing?”    
  
He paused for a long moment.   
  
“I’m still looking for a good idea on how to make sure Keats is okay with the whole... airplane thing. Very open to suggestions because the internet has some uh... some real bad ideas.”

 

“Yeah, she sent a couple copies for you and Keats,”  Lup flopped back on the bed, still ticking things off on her fingers, “Right, gave Ango his copies, the gum is hit or miss but I guess we can bring some? I’ve never needed it, but Luce can get hella migraines from the pressure change...”   
  
She dropped her hand to drum it on the sheets.   
  
“.... yeah, I thought about asking Merle for a calm emotions charm, but that’s just gonna hurt him AND you if it’s strong enough so.... fuck.”

 

"I was fine last time I was on a plane but uh... I don't know how Ango will be."    
  
Closing his laptop, he took the bag and put both into his carry-on bag.    
  
"Maybe we could just uh... just make sure he's got wifi?" He shrugged uncertainly and then lay on the bed, rolling so he could put an arm around her. "That might work, right?"

 

“ _ Listen _ , ten to one Angus is going to be bored within an hour or pass the fuck out once he’s finished all his books,” Lup turned and flopped her own arm over Barry, chewing her lip.    
  
“....Yeah, if we can keep Keats distracted and headphones on most of the time, that’s probably the best bet. It’s only two hours....”    
  
She closed her eyes and exhaled, “please tell me I need to get up and finish packing now....”

 

"Do I have to?" He leaned against her and buried his face in against her neck. "This is comfortable..."   
  
Then he sighed and kissed her lightly. "But we should both finish getting packed... I still haven't finished either. I was charging a couple of the uh... the spare batteries. We can bring those on the plane, right? Just like... in checked bags?"

 

“Yeah, I’m pretty sure those boxes she keeps them in are better shielded than any of the phone cases on board...”   
  
Slowly, reluctantly, Lup sat up and stared at the open suitcases on the floor,    
  
“Next time we’re taking the train. Even if it’s extra time, we’ll probably make it up in not going through security.”    
  
There was a knock at the door, and Angus sidled in, at Lup’s “Yup!” Tess draped in his arms.

 

Barry sat up at the knock and then smiled.   
  
"Hey, buddy. What's up? How's packing going?"   
  
He got off the bed headed over to check if the batteries were done yet.

 

“I’m done,” Angus said promptly. Lup snorted and Angus scowled. “I  _ am! _ I packed  _ two _ books and put the rest on my phone. I just, um....   
  
He leaned against the bed, Tess still purring loudly, “... if someone says I’m not your kid and tries to detain me for questioning, do I make a noisy fuss?”

 

Barry's eyebrows shot up and he glanced over at Lup for a moment. Then he went to sit next to Angus, putting an arm around his shoulders.    
  
"If anybody says anything, you let us handle it, okay? But that's what we've got all that paperwork for. So we can prove that you're our son. And... and if we're not right there, you've got your own copies."   
  
Barry considered for a moment, his mind racing through all the things he'd been reading on the internet over the last few weeks preparing for this trip. Then he looked at Lup again, uncertainty in his eyes.

 

Angus turned to look at her too, clearly unconvinced. Lup tapped a fingernail to her teeth, eyes narrowed in thought.    
  
“You know the difference between screaming and yelling, right?” Angus nodded, opening his mouth, “- _ Please _ don’t demonstrate, lil man. Hmm... in case of emergencies, stick closer to me ‘stead of your dad and use ‘mommy’ and ‘daddy’. The younger you sound, the more sympathy we get.”    
  
Angus nodded firmly, leaning into Barry.

 

Barry frowned a little, not particularly liking that. But then he supposed less people would question Lup being Angus' mom than him being Angus' dad. No matter how frustrating that was for all of them.    
  
"But we should all be sticking together, so it shouldn't be a problem. Alright?" Barry hugged Angus tighter and then grinned. "So, what're you most excited to see when we get there?"

 

“The Science Museum,” Angus grinned and fumbled with Tess until he had his phone out, “they have a  _ space _ exhibit right now! And there’s always dinosaurs and an exhibit on divergent evolution between people!”    
  
Lup leaned forward, ears pricked, “Huh.... bet that last one is more fun than sitting through the snooze fest that’s the closing ceremonies....”

 

"Space exhibit?" Barry perked up. "I'm very down to play hooky if I get to see the space exhibit. I bet I could book the tickets online..."   
  
He leaned closer, looking at Angus' phone. "Oh, that uh... that looks really good." He looked up and grinned at Lup. "Babe, there's uh... there's a planetarium."

 

Lup was already scrolling on her own phone, grinning, “Okay, Maureen’s is the only presentation I give a fuck about on Sunday, so we’re  _ deffo _ going after that. Think you can hang on till after lunch for dinosaurs, Ango?”    
  
He nodded, readjusting Tess, who was determinedly limp.   
  
“Cool, we’ll add it to the agenda.” And gods, wasn’t  _ that _ something she wasn’t quite sure should be coming out of her mouth. This year was maybe the first she had been heavier on the ‘organized’ part of ‘organized chaos’ and she wasn’t entirely sure how to cope with it.   
  
Angus beamed and hugged them both before slipping out of the room again with a cheerful ‘night!’ Tess still refusing to admit to having bones. 

 

"Sleep well, buddy." Barry called after Angus.

 

“.....I think Miss Thing there suspects something.”

Barry turned a smile to Lup. "You know she does. She knows everything, especially the things we don't want her to know."   
  
He went to check the batteries again and started packing them into their cases.    
  
"There's a lightning show too. With a giant tesla coil and stuff. But uh... we can skip that if you want."

 

Lup made a face, “ugh, that shit looks so cool too... I mean, it’s bitty stuff, I could.... I could  _ try _ anyway....”

* * *

 

Not needing to do more than meditate for four hours ostensibly meant that everyone but Angus should have been ready and waiting to go by the time Magnus and Julia pulled up Magnus’s huge van. As it was, Lup and Barry were running around checking the last minute things around the house that  _ absolutely had to be done this moment _ while Angus sat by the door and petted Tess who was aggrieved at the change in routine and was flopped her heaviest in his lap to make sure he couldn’t leave.    
  
Angus had the oddest sensation that the house was doing something similar to his parents.    
  
“They’re  _ here! _ ” he picked up his one (1) bag and kissed Tess before pushing her to the floor.

 

Barry was glad they'd gotten their bags down near the front door at least before heading around to deal with everything else. And Angus was ready to go and he was pretty sure Lup was on her way down now. Which just left... Looking around, he realized he didn't see Keats or the duffel-bag Keats had been packing. He went to the basement door and pulled it open, shouting down the stairs.   
  
"Keats! Come on, kiddo, it's time to go. They're here."   
  
Keats looked up, eyes catching the light from the kitchen in the darkness of his room. He shoved one last jacket into his bag and trudged up the stairs. He was not exactly super into this whole travel thing. As far as he was aware, other than a few trips to the beach with Edward and Lydia (and sometimes Barry) as a kid, he'd traveled exactly twice in his life and one of them had ended up with him dead and the second one almost ended up with the rest of his family dead (more than almost depending on if he was charitable enough to consider Edward and Lydia family today or not). And yet, here he was, shoving himself into a van to go get on a  _ plane _ for the second time ever, and he was the picture of unhappy teenager.

 

Angus ran out the door, ignoring Tess’s unhappy yelling and waved to Julia in the driver’s seat as Magnus got out to open the truck doors,    
  
“Hi Miss Julia! Hi Magnus! Is Valin almost ready to come home?”   
  
Magnus grinned at him and waved at Lup on the porch as she walked out with suitcases weighing her down.    
  
“Yup! Pretty much as soon as we get back and Lup and Barry sign the paperwork.”    
  
Angus grinned harder and jumped into the back seat.    
  
A  _ dog. _

 

Keats chucked his bag in the back and dropped into the seat next to Angus. He was pale, paler even than usual, and he had a white knuckle grip on his hat in his lap. Then he perked up just slightly, ears flicking up with curiosity and excitement.   
  
“He gets to come home?”   
  
Barry followed after Lup, locking up the house and tucking the keys in his pocket. He had offered to leave them hidden for Susan to watch things but Kravitz had gone strangely ominous and said Susan had no need of keys to enter any home she chose. After that, Barry had decided to just accept it and not ask too many questions.   
  
“Hey Mags, Jules. How’re you two doing?”   
  
Julia grinned. “Pretty amazing. Seriously looking forward to a vacation.” Then her grin turned wicked. “We started bets this morning. I’ve got ten bucks says there’s still a legend of me in the airport from last time I came through.”

 

Magnus grinned at Keats and gave him a thumbs up before turning to Barry,    
  
“So we gotta let her go first in line to check,    
  
Lup tossed the bags in the back and laughed, coming around to clamber in.    
  
“Oh I am  _ so _ willing to let you take that....Actually I will  _ pay _ you ten bucks to go first whether they remember or  _ not _ .”

 

Barry snorted with laughter. "Fuck, I hope there is. I wanna see that."   
  
He reached for Lup's hand, still a bit nervous about all of this, but trusting that Lup and the others would make sure this was alright. Being honest, he was less worried about himself than he was worried about the nearly silent young man sitting behind him. Keats had only perked up when they talked about his dog and otherwise, he was silent and practically giving off waves of discomfort and fear.

 

Angus leaned against Keats, opening the podcast app on his phone. Glancing up at his [big brother] he offered an ear bud silently.

Keats took the ear bud with a smile, trying to relax, and leaned against Angus, looking to see what they were listening to.

 

The podcast was a British one, a radio announcer reading out ‘sinful’ stories the audience had sent in and deciding whether they would be forgiven or not. It didn’t require much brain to listen to and Angus closed his eyes and prepared to doze during the hour long car ride to the airport.    
  


Seeing the boys were taken care of, Lup laced her fingers together with Barry’s and leaned back against the seat, closing her eyes. The feeling of leaving the wards almost felt... she opened her eyes again as they headed onto the road and glanced at Barry,    
  
“Did that feel...?”  _ Petulant _ was almost the word. Much like Tess’s sulky mius as Angus had closed the front door on her. 

 

Barry had turned back to stare at the house as they left, turning just the moment they passed under the wards. He'd never felt it quite like that before, not any of the times they'd left the house on a daily basis. But... well, today was hardly normal. Maybe the house didn't like the idea of them leaving? Or maybe it was the land. Either way, it was something to think about later. "Yeah... Yeah."

 

Lup groaned and leaned against him,    
“More reason to look up ancestries later i guess...”   
  
“Say what?”    
  
“ _ Nothiiiing _ , Magnus....”   


* * *

Angus woke up to Julia and Magnus fake arguing about Magnus’s possibly superior ability to drive as Julia navigated to the long term parking lot and found a spot.    
  
Unloading and walking to the terminal was a noisy affair, and he did his best to wake up enough to not just be tugged along by Keats’ hand.    
  
He  _ was _ awake enough by the time they had checked their baggage and a TSA agent was asking for his boarding pass and ID. Meekly, he handed his phone up, tensed to pull out the sheaf of papers in his front bag pocket.    
  
There was a ‘ding!’ and he got his phone back,    
  
“NEXT!”

 

Keats approached the booth, nervously holding out the medical id he'd been given to explain the harness. Julia hadn't had any trouble. Hell, she'd just given the man a smile and he'd practically turned into a ghost himself. Keats was nervous though and his nerves seemed to be making the TSA agent nervous.   
  
"Sir, if you could please step aside?"   
  
Keats' ears flicked straight up and his eyes widened as he looked over at the other side of the security where Angus had already gone through. Then he looked at Lup who was just ahead of him.   
  
"[Mom?]"   
  
And that only made the decidedly human TSA agent more nervous. The last thing this guy wanted was his potential security risk suddenly not speaking English.

 

Lup turned towards the TSA agent, ears neutral, smile friendly, eyes sharp and ready to do battle,    
  
“There a problem? Thought we brought all the right forms, but  _ man _ that website-“   
  
Angus froze in front of the conveyor belt, halfway through taking his shoes off, eyes flicking from Lup to Keats to the agent.

The TSA Agent glanced at her and then at Keats, gears turning in his head. He could have backed off, but instead he decided to just doubledown.   
  
"Just a random security check, Ma'am. Nothing to worry about."   
  
He put a hand on Keats' shoulder, clearly wanting him to turn around, and Keats froze, eyes going wide in the moment when his fight or flight instincts were kicking in and he was trying to decide which way to jump.

 

Lup’s ears pinned back, her smile never wavering as she moved within Keats’ personal space,    
“Sure right absolutely; Keats [I’m staying with you, this is just him flexing his muscles, it’s going to be fine.] It’s just his first time flying and he’s nervous, you know how it is.”

 

Keats nodded a little and just barely kept himself from lashing out. He reached for Lup's hand, trying to move away from the human who was pushing him along. They stepped only stepped a bit off to the side and the man reached for a pair of gloves while another agent set Keats' carry on bag down. It was just a small backpack with his tablet, his cap, a puzzle book he'd gotten for the plane, some pens, and some odds and ends he sometimes carried while hiking. The agent started going through it, setting things into a small bucket.   
  
Keats looked at Lup, ears flicked back and down.   
  
"[Did I do something wrong, Mom?]"

 

“[Not in the least, michen, you’re just the right shape for a ‘random’ security check. Julia had them spooked and wanting a target.]”    
  
Lup’s eyes were sharp, ears forced into neutral from their tendency to ease back.  Keats nodded just slightly, watching them go through his things. Then the man who had pulled gloves on moved towards him.    
  
"Alright, I just need to have a look at this medical device and then you can go through."   
  
Keats' ears shot straight up and he squeezed his eyes shut. He kept his harness under his clothes and he didn't want to take his jacket and his shirt off because some stupid  _ round ears _ was  _ nervous.  _ Lup’s ears went back fully, cursing that she hadn’t insisted on Keats keeping the harness on top of his shirt like Barry tended to,    
  
“Got a privacy screen, kemosabe?”

The TSA agent frowned just slightly and gestured towards a door,  “Through there. Did you want to come with, Ma’am?”

  
  
Keats looked startled and then nodded rapidly. His ears had flicked to that neutral position that they almost never were in. It was never a good sign.

“Oh no  _ doubt _ , son. C’mon, michen, we’ll get this over with quick.”  Lup guided Keats through the door into the small, nondescript, grey room, careful to keep herself just slightly behind him so no one else could sneak up on him. She only let go of his hand to hold hers out for his jacket,    
  
“Hopefully you dudes are up on your sensitivity training enough to know  _ look _ but don’t  _ touch _ his harness, yeah?”

 

The man was just barely not glaring at Lup, very unhappy with how this was going. Keats tugged his jacket off and handed it to Lup, rapidly turning red as he did. Then he pulled his shirt off, holding it. The man walked around behind Keats, looking at the actual functional portion of the harness rather than the straps in the front.   
  
He didn't respond to what Lup had said, just looking over the harness. He looked at the lights and panels, frowning slightly. Then he turned and headed towards the door.    
  
"I'm going to have to have my supervisor look at this."

“Unless your supervisor has a PhD in astral engineering, they’re not gonna know what the fuck it is anymore than you do,  _ sir _ , and we have the paperwork for it,"  Lup’s voice was clipped, her smile hard, as she moved closer to Keats.

 

The man held his hand out for the paperwork. "Then my supervisor is going to look at  _ that _ and you're going to cool your heels for a while,  _ Ma'am." _

Lup met his glare with a flat smile,  “Yeah, this doesn’t leave my sight, bring ‘em in.”

* * *

 

Barry sat on the bench just beyond the security screening area, Angus sitting next to him. _Angus_ had been chivvied through security, had a scanner run over the charmed beads in his hair, and sent past without a second look, followed by Barry soon after.

Magnus and Julia had gone on ahead after Barry insisted. They were all plenty early. Everything was going to be fine. He looked down at Angus, trying to gauge how he was holding up,  "You can listen to your show again if you want, kiddo. Nothing stopping you now that we're over here."

Angus was focused on the area that led to the private security rooms and shook his head, beads clacking,  “I’m fine. Is there someone we can ask to make a fuss at?”    
  
Barry’s phone buzzed:    
  
- _ im going to strangle this agent with my bare hands and no jury of my peers would convict _

 

Barry winced, looking at his phone, and put an arm around Angus.  "Odds are, if we raise a fuss, it's just going to make things take longer. How about we go grab some breakfast so we've got uh... so we've got something nice to hand them when they get out. Think Keats would like a chocolate dipped donut or do you think he'd want the uh... the jelly filled kind more?"   
  
It was another half an hour before Keats and Lup were finally let back out of security and through. Keats was already exhausted, bright red, completely on edge and even less happy about the mere concept of airports than he'd been before.

 

Lup kept an arm around Keats’ shoulders until they found Barry and Angus.    
  
She smiled brightly at Barry and the bag of donuts, their bond fizzing with barely controlled rage.    
  
“Y’all are the  _ best _ . Let’s find our gate and then I’m heading to the smoking area for a bit.”

 

Keats raised his hand very slowly, mouth full of donut and jelly all over his face. He had been checking through his backpack and found that the protein bar he'd stuck in the outside pocket was missing. He didn't know if the stupid security agent had stolen it or if it had just fallen around getting thrown around, but either way, it was gone.   
  
"Can I have a smoke too, Mom?"

“Absolutely not, I’m not  _ inhaling _ those death sticks,” Lup strode off without a second look, ears flat with rage.    
  
Angus scooted closer to Keats,    
“[What were they-]” he frowned, stumbling over grammar, “[To do- trying...]- wait.” Opening his phone he scrolled to his dictionary app.

 

Keats wiped the jelly off his face and smiled at Angus,  "He was being a dick. That's what Mom said. And it's [trying to do]. You almost had it. Just goofed a little." He reached over to tousle his hair and then looked ahead. "C5. That's us, right?"   
  
Barry looked at the tickets in his hand and then nodded. "That's the one."   
  


Once they'd found their gate and annexed some seats, Angus dropped his bag next to Barry, “Gotta pee!”    
  
Without waiting for a response, he darted to the bathroom signs.  The line wasn’t that long, but he still bounced a little waiting for an open stall. As he did, a man came out that looked-   
  
He blinked, “L- Mr Lucas?”

 

Lucas Miller looked haggard, exhausted and pale. He had a messy beard where he'd been clean shaven before and his hair was unkempt. For a long moment, he just stared down at the boy in front of him for a long moment, jaw clenched tightly. Then he tried out something like a smile.   
  
"Angus. What a surprise seeing you here. Going on a trip?"   
  
He glanced around a little, almost as though he was expecting to see Barry or one of the others.   
  
"I should go. My flight is boarding soon."   
  
Then he just brushed past Angus and out of the bathroom.

 

Angus blinked after him, until the dwarf behind him tapped his shoulder firmly.    
  
He was thoughtful as he came back to the seats they’d claimed. Lup wasn’t back yet, but a quick glance around the gate waiting area showed that Lucas wasn’t either.    
Moving his bag to the floor, Angus glanced up at Barry,  “Is Lucas Miller presenting something this weekend too?”

 

Barry blinked a few times. Well, that wasn’t a name he had been expecting to hear.   
  
“I... don’t know? I can check the presentation list but uh... why, bud?”   
  
Barry looked around a little, trying to spot a flight status board. He just wanted to make sure that everything was still on schedule and make sure they were in the right place and make sure absolutely nothing else was going to go wrong. In no small part because he was pretty sure that if anything did, either Lup or Keats was going to mutiny.

 

“He was in the bathroom. He wasn’t happy to see me,"  Angus dug out his phone again and put an earbud in, swinging his legs with nervous energy.    
  
Lup was by the flight status board, and turned as she felt his eyes on her. She had a large plastic cup of coffee and her ears were at a much more relaxed angle.    
  
Flopping on the chair on the other side of Keats, she sighed,   “Well, we have time to kill but at least the plane’s not  _ late _ ....”

 

Barry shrugged. “He’s probably got something. He’s still a scientist even if he’s a fathead.”  He reached over to put a hand on Lup’s shoulder, just giving it a little squeeze. Everything was fine, just a little rough. And soon enough, they’d be in Boston and they could all relax for a while.

“Who’s a fathead?”  Lup leaned into the touch, sending amused resignation. Travel was just Like This.    
  
“I saw Lucas Miller in the bathroom and he’s probably going to Boston too, why does Ethavuraz have so many ‘cs’ words?”    
  


Lup’s ears eased back and she wrinkled her nose, but Angus’s pointed topic change worked,    
  
“To inconvenience everyone else specifically, michen. Say it like an Infernal ‘s’, you’ve got  _ those _ down.” Much to Kravitz’s bemusement, which Lup felt it was her duty to encourage in every way possible now he was officially going to be her brother-in-law.

 

Barry leaned back, half inclined to close his eyes and just take a nap right there in the chair. Instead, he found himself watching the people go by. It was always fascinating.   
  
Keats was still tense. He absolutely hated this hurry up and wait. He hated the idea of getting on an airplane. He hated the idea of Lucas Miller being anywhere near any of them. He pulled his phone out and started fidgeting with it, deciding that would be the best way to help him calm down. Which was how he ended up on Instagram. Savannah and a few of her friends had posted a new story. Looked like there had been a party last night at her college. Smiling to himself, he tried to relax as he looked through the pictures. Then he noticed a lot of the pictures of Savannah also had a drow boy with his hair tied up in a bun at her side and lots of comments about how she should just be dating him already. His ears drooped and Keats shut the app. Part of him just wanted to lay down on the floor and stay there.

 

Lup scanned the halls, ears twitching at every (single constant) announcement for gate changes and calling people to their flights. Glancing through the group server showed Lucretia had found Lucas’s presentation; a relatively last minute addition, with a terrible slot on Sunday. There were quite a lot of spiteful additions from Taako and Merle already and Lup made sure to add that Angus had seen him and a few choice comments.    
  
Glancing over at Keats, she noted that he had on his lovesick face as she’d taken to thinking of it,    
  
“How’s Savannah, michen?”

 

Keats slumped even further down in his seat. He was the very picture of dejected.   
  
“[She went to a party last night with some guy and her friends think they should be dating instead of me and her.]” He sighed a little and showed her the pictures. “[I trust her, I really do. I just... I don’t like this. And it keeps happening. I really, really don’t like her friends and I don’t know how to say it without it being weird.]”

 

Lup’s ears went back as she scrolled,    
“Gross.”    
  
“[Savannah’s friends are actors,]” Angus piped up from Lup’s other side. He frowned, “[insincere? Ly.....ing?]” he leaned forward to look at Keats, “What’s ‘fake’?”

 

"[Fake.]" Keats sighed and reached for his phone back. "I don't know if they are or they aren't but what if they convince her because I'm not around? They don't even know I'm- They don't even know everything and they think I'm a weirdo. And I just...  _ ugh." _

 

Lup handed it back, ears twitching ironically,    
“If they do, she’s not the girl I think she is. I think since they’re doing it in public you should mention it’s pretty nasty of ‘em, but it’s on her to tell ‘em to knock it off.”    
  
“Or fuck off,” Angus pulled his personal vocabulary dictionary up and added ‘fake’.

 

Keats nodded a little, not entirely convinced but willing to at least think about it. "I guess I can talk to her about it... Or something... I don't know..."

 

“Nothing changes if you don’t,” Lup stood and stretched just as the announcement for pre-boarding came on over the intercom,    
  
“Oh thank the  _ gods _ .....”


	6. Horny Ad for Casper Mattresses

They were all checked in at the hotel and Barry was just about ready to collapse. Keats and Angus were exploring their adjoined room and Barry flopped onto the bed.    
  
"Babe, can I sleep uh... basically forever? That'd be pretty great. Also, never taking a plane with the kids ever again."

 

Lup yanked her shirt off to shuck her bra, and looked at the shirt with distaste before tossing it on the floor,    
  
“Hate to break it to you, [beloved], but we’re doing it again in three days.”    
  
Digging in her carry on, she pulled out a small charm on a string and hung it on the door, before flopping face first into the bed.    
  
“Fuck, I’m so glad we did it today instead of tomorrow morning....”

 

Barry's phone buzzed and he grumbled, pulling it out. There was a message from Keats there waiting and then a second one appeared right after it.   
  
_ \- Can we go to the pool? I'll watch Angus. Promise. _   
  
_ \- We both brought our trunks and it's in the building AND there's a lifeguard. _   
  
Rolling to his side, Barry put an arm around Lup. "The boys found the pool and they wanna go swim. I can't believe they're still awake. Any reason I shouldn't say it's alright? I can't think of one..."

 

Lup flapped a hand,    
“Go. Let them. If they have the energy they should burn it away from me.”    
  
Rolling over, she spread eagled out across the awesomely huge bed, “tell them to bring back a room service menu.”

 

Barry chuckled quietly and sent off the message. Then he tossed his phone and snuggled against her.    
  
"We'll probably hear from them in a few hours." He kissed her shoulder and closed his eyes. "I'm trying to work up the uh... the will to actually sit up and take my jeans off. This bed is real comfy. We need a new mattress at home."

 

“Agreed. Right now  _ Keats _ has the nicest one and it’s unfair....”    
  
Lup grunted and lifted her hips enough to shove her yoga pants down and kicked them off. Turning her head, she kissed Barry’s temple,    
  
“Now you, babe.”

 

He undid his belt and wiggled his jeans off, kicking them onto the floor. "We should get Ango a new mattress too. I'm honestly stunned my old one is still in one piece."   
  
Then he tugged his shirt off and tossed it with his pants before flopping back down beside her in nothing but his happy goldfish boxers and his harness.

 

Lup took this as an invitation to sprawl on him, hooking a leg over Barry’s hip and sighing contentedly.    
  
“Right, yeah. Tax return is mattress money then...”    
  
Idly, she traced a fingernail along his chest and under one of the harness straps.

 

Barry put his arms around her, holding her tight. Turning slightly, he kissed her neck and then nipped at her ear, a teasing smile on his face.

 

Grinning, Lup wrapped her hand on the harness strap and tugged, pulling with the leg on his hip until Barry was half on top of her,   
  
“What happened to sleeping basically forever?”    
  
She returned the teasing smile and kissed his nose.

 

"Oh, you know. Same thing that happens every time." He ran one hand up her side and traced a feather-light circle around one of her nipples. "S'hard to uh... to  _ not _ want to touch you when you're right here and all sexy. Plus we've got this whole big comfy bed and no kids in sight."

 

“Are unicorn boyshorts sexy? Is there something you want to  _ tell _ me, Barry?”    
  
Despite her teasing, Lup shivered happily under the touch, walking her fingers up Barry’s chest and neck to cup the back of his head.

 

"No,  _ you're _ sexy, you dork." He kissed her lightly. "Absolutely irresistible. No matter what uh... what goofy cartoon you've got on your underwear today."

 

Lup chased his mouth for a deeper kiss, pulling at the back of Barry’s neck and wiggling her hips until they were flush together.    
  
“Hmmmmm, tell me more?”

 

Barry ran a finger up the length of one of her ears. "First off, I love you so I'm pretty sure that makes me a really biased source  _ but..." _   
  
He kissed her again, a little smile on his face. "You're gorgeous, you know that? And the way you feel in my arms is just... perfect." He cupped her breast with his hand, brushing his thumb over her nipple as he leaned in. "And the sounds you make when I touch you are... are better than anything."

 

Lup was flushed from her ear tips to her neck, her mouth dropping open as Barry leaned in to kiss her, whimpering unintentionally.    
  
“How-  _ how _ .... how the  _ fuck _ do you get me so riled in, in  _ minutes _ , babe-“

 

"I pay attention to what you like." His touches were slow, deliberate, almost lazy. "And I  _ really _ like making you happy."

 

“ _ Fuck- _ ” Lup arched into his hands, making soft whines on her exhales, hands skittering along Barry’s spine and sending out small pulses of heat, carried along with  _ desireadorationneed _ . “ _ Barry _ , fuck, just-“

 

He kissed her again, hard and deep and like he needed it, needed the taste of her on his lips.    
  
“Just what?” His voice was low, thick with lust but surprisingly controlled all things considered. “Tell me what you want, Lup.”

 

She laughed, a hard exhale, hips pressing up against his.    
  
“‘You’ and- and ‘everywhere’ isn’t totally, totally helpful-“    
  
Her arms were still wound around his neck, one hand running up to trace along Barry’s jaw and up to his ear, trailing her nail against the soft curve.

 

"Gonna have to uh... to be more specific than that, babe." His tone was teasing and he kissed her again, lightly this time. "Tell me what you want. Tell me how you want me to touch you."

 

Lup growled in frustration, chasing Barry’s mouth for a longer kiss.    
  
“Why do  _ I _ have to  _ think _ when you’ve got your hand all over my tit?”

 

He chuckled and took his hand away, instead pushing himself up a bit. "Better?"

 

She pouted, “ _ No. _ ”    
  
Reaching down between them, Lup palmed at his adorable goldfish boxers, running her thumb along the outline of his cock.    
  
“Fucking is a  _ lot _ of energy right now, how about just hands? Also? Kissing. Come back here-“    
  
The hand still on Barry’s neck tugged ineffectually to bring him back in range.

 

Barry shivered at her touch, whimpering just slightly. Then he rolled to his side and pulled her with him. "Sounds perfect." He wrapped an arm around her and kissed her deeply.

 

Wriggling out of her shorts, Lup hooked a finger on the waistband of his boxers and tugged until Barry lifted his hips enough for her to pull them off.    
  
She sighed her satisfaction, running her hand up his cock, flicking her thumb over the head,    
  
“So good, look at you... fucking gorgeous.”

 

Barry blushed a little, melting under her praise and her touch. He ran his fingers along one of her ears, tugging at it as he kissed her again. "You're too good to me, you know that?"

 

“HmmmmNOPE, impossible, exactly as many goods as you deserve,” pressing her hips against his, Lup kissed Barry deeply, sending all her love along with it.    
  
Reaching out her thumb, she pulled her clit against his cock and sighed happily into his mouth.    
  
“Perfect...”

 

Barry wrapped his hand around hers and hooked his leg over her hips to pull her as close as possible. Even now, the temperature difference was still startling, still wonderful. Some distant part of his mind wondered if he would ever grow accustomed and he hoped very much that he wouldn't.   
  
"Like this, babe?"

 

“Yeah.... yeah s’good,” curling her fingers in his hair and exploring his mouth, Lup began to move her hand, gasping softly whenever Barry’s hand shifted and she felt the change from her warm hand to his cool one.

 

Barry whimpered against her mouth, trying to guide her hand to a faster pace. With his free hand, he teased her nipples between thumb and forefinger, touches no longer light and gentle. Every little gasp she made shot another bolt of lust straight through him and he needed that, he needed to hear her moaning for him.

 

Lup huffed a laugh as Barry sped up, “I thought  _ I _ was the impatient one, Bear... can’t,  _ hh _ can’t take it slow this time?”    
  
Despite her words, she matched his pace, head lolling back at his touch, keeping up a soft stream of approving words, their bond humming with desire and soft affection.

 

“If- if you want... fuck that’s good, Lup.”   
  
He wasn’t feeling patient today, not really. Today, he wanted to rut like horny teenagers, gasping and desperate in a stolen moment. He strayed kisses over her skin everywhere he could.

 

Lup giggled and made no effort to slow their pace as she nuzzled into his hair, hips grinding against their hands.    
  
“So  _ good _ to me, Bear, god-  _ gods _ , but you’re gorgeous, can’t, cant get enough of your hands and  _ fuck _ \- ....ass is illegally beautiful, shouldn’t be allowed _ ah-! _ ”   
  
Her crooning litany was cut off as Barry found an old bruise and she inhaled, hips snapping up again.

 

"Fuck, that's... that's a beautiful noise, babe." He kissed her collarbone and then grinned at his absolute worst before he focused on that old bruise, sucking at it with every intention of making it last.

 

She whined, hand moving from his hair down his neck to Barry’s chest where she rolled a nipple between her fingers, twisting her other hand at the same time around his cock.

Barry gasped, eyes widening. He looked up at her and pulled her into an open mouthed kiss. "G-gonna... gonna come for me, Lup?"

 

“Yea- yes, Barry  _ please- _ ” her  _ needingwanting _ rolled over him, not sure she could articulate in words, trailing kisses along Barry’s jaw, whimpering.

Barry grinned, realizing what she meant in that moment, what she wanted. He caught her in another kiss and then spoke, voice low and quiet and commanding in the empty room. “Then _come_ for me.”

 

“ _ Fuck- _ ” Lup full body shuddered, rutting up hard into Barry’s hand, face pressed against his shoulder. Trembling, she brought her free hand up to cup the other side of his jaw as she pressed more nipping kisses against it.

Barry gasped and snapped his hips against hers, his head going back in a wordless moan. His breath was coming hard and fast and he leaned into her hand.   
  
"Gods, babe... that was... amazing."

 

Lup giggled and placed a loud smacking kiss on his cheek. Easing back she stared at the acres of bed between her and the nightstand or her bag. “Hmm. I’ve found a problem with a fuckoff huge bed.”

Barry started laughing and then rolled, pinning her down in the bed to stray kisses all over her face. "We've got a shower, silly. And it's a big one. I could uh... I could even wash your back for you, if you wanted."

 

She made an inarticulate sound of disgust, before wiping her hand off on his butt, “Yes. I’m going to perish of envy but yes, water saving initiative of co-shower.”  Cupping Barry’s cheek with her cleaner hand, Lup caught his mouth in a languid kiss. “Love you so much..... Gods, you’re good,” she grinned and pecked a kiss to his nose, “Ima keep you.”

Barry blushed brightly, mind briefly straying back to what he’d wanted to ask weeks ago. Ah well, he’d figure out how to ask eventually.  He scooted off the bed and offered her a hand. “Love you too, Lup.”

She bounced off after him, lacing their fingers together as they headed into the common area.   
  
It was a normal shower bath set up, but there was far more counter space than Lup was used to and she resolved to use it  _ all _ when putting on the excessive amounts of makeup she rarely bothered with anymore.    


  
The water pressure was heavenly.    
  


“Okay if we can’t build a new bathroom yet, we  _ could _ get a new shower head....”

"We absolutely could." He reached for the tiny bottle of body wash, pouring a little into his hands to wash her back like he'd offered. "And we uh... we probably can figure out the whole bathroom thing. I just don't know where to put it short of the basement."   
  
He chuckled quietly, rubbing his hands over her back in long, gentle motions. "Keats would throw a fit if we told him we were doing construction in his room though."

 

“Considering how huffy he gets about  _ laundry _ ...”    
  
“You should just tell him to  _ do _ the laundry.”   
  


Lup leaned into the touch, humming in a not quite a purr more similar to Barry’s. She was quiet while she scrubbed at her hair and rinsed it.    
  
“...I know I joked about building a new wing to the house, but I almost feel like, uuuhhh, like we’d have to  _ ask _ first....”

  
He rested his soapy hands on her hips and leaned against her. For a quiet moment, he was just watching her, watching the way her the water coursed down her body. Then she spoke and he blinked.   
  
“Ask the house, you mean? Yeah... it sure does feel like that. It’s uh... it’s weird because I don’t remember it ever feeling like that before.”

 

“Yeah...it’s been changing since... probably since Beltane and getting the boys...”  She turned in his arms, pressing a kiss to his jaw and reaching around him to grab the body wash,  “Turn around, babe, my turn. I think it  _ likes _ having people in it. Plus we’re doing all that holiday magic, probably helps.”

He kissed her and then turned, stretching as he did,  “Makes sense. My Mom used to uh... used to talk about how she and my dad always wanted a big family. Lots of kids, you know?”

“Gods, I hope that’s not required, I can barely handle the two.”    
  
Lup started at the small of Barry’s back and worked her way up in small circles, dropping occasional quick kisses in spots before running her hands over them.

 

"I dunno, I wouldn't mind. And it's uh... it's not like we can't wait until they-" He stopped, cutting himself off. "Well... I guess I mean... until  _ Ango _ grows up."   
  
And just like that, the wind was gone from his sails.

Lup reached the top of his shoulders and  pressed herself against Barry’s back, a soft purr starting in her throat in response to his tense muscles.

Barry leaned into her touch and sighed. "Sorry, babe. Didn't mean to bring the mood down."

 

“It happens,” Lup nuzzled the back of his jaw, still purring softly, “this kind of mood killer at least doesn’t involve accidentally throwing shit at me.”  Her voice was deliberately light, buoyed by a soft sending of love and calm across their link.

"Hey now, I haven't done that in... in weeks, at least." He laughed at that and turned to kiss her cheek. He responded to that love with his own.

 

He was warm from the water and exertion, and the water was warm on her back, and Lup’s purr deepened as she moved Barry around to let the spray rinse him off.    
  
It was easy then, to cup his cheek and kiss him with all her love affection contentment flowing out of her. Who cared about a long unending future that couldn’t get at them except in pieces of the present when they had perfect moments like these?

 

Barry returned that kiss, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her close. Running his hands over her back, he smiled up at her.    
  
"I don't know how I got this lucky. Having you and the boys and all of this. I know I've said it before but... I just keep thinking it."

 

Lup grinned into the kiss, bumping their hips together cheekily, “I’m still voting for ‘I’m perfect and deserve the best boyfriend’, but we could also consider karmic balance,” she pressed her face into his cheek and blew a raspberry.  Barry laughed and held her tight against him. "I'm thinking the first one is definitely, definitely right."

His laughter was infectious and Lup ran a hand through his hair as she giggled.    
  
The water straightened out his curls and they tended to flop in his face, and Lup loved the way they would air dry and fluff up again, usually mussed after he ran his hand through them while thinking.    
  
Sighing, she leaned forward for another kiss,  “We should probably eat and unpack before the boys get back...”

 

"Aren't they bringing back the uh... the room service menu? I mean, we can totally unpack. I'm down for that."  He cupped her cheek in one hand and kissed her gently. Then he turned around to turn the water off and then reached for a towel to pass one to her and a second for himself.    
  
"I'm seriously thinking about uh... about seeing what's on the tv when we're done here. I love shitty hotel tv."

 

“Yeah, that was when I thought we were actually going to  _ sleep _ , babe,” Lup took the towel and bent over to scrub at her curls. “Now I like the idea of eating overpriced hotel food in bed and watching shitty hotel tv while cuddling my man.”


	7. Chapter 7

Nine am was a  _ terrible _ time to start any kind of conference or convention,  _ and yet- _ .    
  
Lup stood next to Taako, dressed to the nines and wearing  _ way _ too much makeup, but they were color coordinated and were ready to stun. So maybe just once it was worth it.    
  
Taako had barely gotten to the hotel an hour ago and was wearing sunglasses indoor to hide his blood shot eyes as he sipped his quadruple shot americano.    
  
“Next time I’ll deal with flying with your monsters, Lulu, I swear.”    
  
“Oh we’re  _ so _ not flying with them for like.... ten years or something, babe, no worries.”    
  
Scanning the hall, Lup spotted Magnus and Julia, and waved. Magnus waved back enthusiastically and gestured to the row of seats they were saving.    
  
“Awesome, saves us some- Taako?” Taako was staring across the hall, fingers tightening on his cup.    
  
“Lup, where’s your nerd I need his bland shield  _ right fuckin’ now- _ ”    
  
“Barry is behind you.”   
  
“ _ Fuck-! _ Barold,  _ hide me! _ ”

Barry was exhausted but at least he didn't look it. He actually looked presentable for once. Or at least as presentable as you could get in jeans and a polo. He looked around, his own coffee raised to his lips. Then he turned back to stare at Taako all but actively hiding behind him.   
  
"I'm sorry, my  _ what?" _ He looked around, trying to figure out what had set Taako off like that, only to spot a Drow man with long hair and an actual tarantula perched on his shoulder walking towards them.   
  
"Taako! Darling! It's been so  _ long! _ Vat you doing here? Did you come to show off ze fancy science you've been doing? Look, I brought Bryan!"

Taako gave up trying to hide behind Barry (two inches shorter and with no hat) and squared up to Brian, a brittle smile on his face, “ _ Brian _ , so.... such a  _ thing _ seeing you here and you brought the, yeah uh, the tarantula, cool cool, coolcoolcool, in a crowded room and  _ everything _ , boysie you haven’t changed a  _ bit- _ ”    
  
Lup faded back to stand beside Barry, hiding her expression behind a sip of her own latte, and murmuring as low as she could, “Time to showing his ring, place bets.”

Barry leaned closer to Lup and whispered quietly. “So uh... do you know this guy? Because he seems uh... how do I say this tactfully... uh... a few fruit loops short of a bowl, you know?”   
  
Brian’s smile grew even brighter and Barry’s eyes widened when he saw the man had pointed canines. Was that normal? Granted, he hadn’t met many Drow, but he was pretty sure he would have noticed if Ren had long pointed teeth like that. Probably. Right?    
  
“Vell, of course I brought Bryan. He is the star of the show and all zat. Mein brilliant little friend is going to knock all of zeir socks off. How have you been doing?  _ Vat _ have you been doing?”   
  
He gestured broadly with every word and Barry kept looking at Lup, now with the strange and confusing feeling like they were actively talking to a comic book villain come to life.

Lup waited until a particularly loud uptick in Brian’s monologue before whispering;    
  
“ _ Ex boyfriend. _ ”   
  
Taako had a forefinger pressed against his mouth, nodding along as Brian spoke. Lup noted it  _ was _ his left hand, and displayed his engagement ring prominently. Damn,  _ no _ time wasted.    
  
“Oh you know, little bit of this and that, lot of the other. You are  _ welcome _ to come watch the  _ whole _ thing, darling. Can’t go giving out sneak peeks this  _ early _ ...”

Barry's eyes widened.  _ "Like... the bad kind or...?" _   
  
Brian laughed, raising one hand to cover his mouth. Then he paused, eyebrows lifting.    
  
"Taako, darling, ven vere you going to say? Who is the lucky man?" Brian glanced around, gaze resting on Barry. "You, perhaps?"

Taako's ears flew up in alarm and Lup inhaled her coffee and spluttered,   
  
" _ NO! _ "   
  
"Absol _ utely _ not,  _ fuck _ ."

Barry reached for Lup's hand. "Nope, definitely not me. Sorry, Taako, but you're uh... you're way too high maintenance." He turned it into a joke towards the end, trying to find his comfort zone again. He was starting to think this Brian was basically anathema to his comfort zone.   
  
"Oh, vell, I suppose he does not exactly look like your... mmmmm...  _ type. _ So, do I get to meet him?" Then Brian smiled. "You can meet my man. He's here vith his own little project. You've probably heard of him. He  _ is _ a famous violinist."

Taako smiled through clenched teeth, ears up in deliberate neutral,    
"'Fraid he couldn't get the time off work, which was a  _ shame _ , if I'd- I'd know you were going to BE here I would have  _ of course _ introduced you."   
  
Lup glanced at Magnus who was making faces at Brian's back and also pointing towards the front where it looked like opening ceremonies were going to start. Most of their crew was already sitting down and she thought she saw Carey's blue scales down the row too.   
  
"Hey, Bri, it's been  _ so _ good seeing you again, but we gotta scat. Looks like things are starting and  _ you _ know."   
  
She squeezed Barry's hand before letting go and lacing her arm through Taako's tilting her head against his in a pose.   
  
"You're  _ super _ welcome to come see our show, it's gonna be baller."

Barry waved a little as they brushed past Brian and made their way to their seats. He hoped very much that the rest of this conference wasn't going to be that particular flavor of eventful. Maybe something with some actual, normal science. He took another sip of his coffee and looked around to make sure the kids had kept up. Keats was slumped down in his seat, staring at his phone blankly. Barry nudged him and Keats slid the phone away, looking up towards the stage.

A huge orc man walked onstage, smiling at the audience,    
  
“Welcome everyone! I’m so very pleased to see you all here!”   
  
Taako slumped in his seat, pulling his hat over his face,    
“Jesus  _ save _ me, it’s Bradson. Well, we can all go to sleep now....”   
  
Lup elbowed him and sat forward with a deliberately interested look on her face.    
  
In Taako’s defense, Bradson was a good speaker but with very little substance to his words. But since he was only declaring the conference open, he didn’t need much. There were phrases like ‘coming together in the spirit of mutual benefit for the betterment of all peoples’ and ‘we compete against no one except the darkness of ignorance.’

Barry was listening attentively, even if he was more than a little confused. It didn’t seem like this speech was saying much but it was certainly being delivered well. That alone was nice. As Brad kept talking, Barry looked around the room. Noelle was fast asleep in her seat by Carey and Killian. And then he spotted Lucas in the back of the room, looking around. He had his arms crossed over his chest and a frown on his face. Barry nudged Lup and pointed back.

Lup jumped, broken out of her meditative daze and looked back. She promptly scowled and scanned the room in front of Lucas.    
  
There. Maureen was five rows ahead of him, back ramrod straight and her hair standing out like a flame.    
  
Lup’s ears pinned back tightly.    
“Well.  _ That’s _ probably against his lawyer’s advice.”

"No one uh... no one ever said he was good at  _ taking _ advice, babe."   
  
Barry leaned against her and closed his eyes. "How long is uh... is the opening ceremony supposed to be? Because I'm already all set to uh... to head to the nap zone."

“Schedule says ten, so if Bradson isn’t done by then, we’re  _ legally _ allowed to leave,” said Taako’s tilted hat.    
  
Lup snorted and poked him, “Hey, cool idea; be  _ nice _ to the nice ex.”   
  
“I’m being  _ nice _ . Not saying anything that isn’t true!”    
  
Lucretia on Taako’s other side elbowed him into silence.    
  
Brad Bradson did in fact end his speech at ten am on the dot with “and now I declare the twenty-third annual conference for Applied Science and Magic open!” And Lup considered that slightly freakier than him rambling for five minutes past.    
  
Either way, it was time for her and Taako to set up. Kissing Barry’s cheek, she ruffled Angus and Keats’ hair with a “seeya at Noelle’s slot!” And ran off with Taako.

"So... who  _ hasn't _ Taako dated?" Barry asked it jokingly just before they parted. He had to get running to go help Davenport get everything set up and running. But first, he stopped, looking at Angus and Keats.   
  
"Alright kids, here's the deal. Keats, you've got your schedule, right?" When Keats nodded, Barry continued on. "Alright, other than that, you've both got uh... you've got free rein. Try and stay out of trouble, don't bother anybody, and if you need either of us, just text, okay? We'll meet up again in the lobby for lunch time. Keats, when you're not helping Noelle, you're responsible for Angus. Angus, don't ditch your brother. Any questions?"

“Can we leave the hotel?” Angus was bouncing on the balls of his feet, antsy after sitting through the  _ most boring _ speech  _ ever _ .

Barry considered that for a long moment. On one hand, it wasn't like last year when they'd been being hunted. On the other hand, they were still kids in a strange city and Keats was jumpy around things that he wasn't used to. Barry shook his head and ruffled Angus' hair.   
  
"Not today, bud. Maybe tomorrow."

Angus drooped, seeing hours of  _ nothing _ stretching in front of him,    
  
“The... the mall next door? Please? There’s nothing to  _ do.... _ ”   
  
He glanced at Keats, eyes begging for backup.

Keats nodded, looking around. He didn't want to be stuck here any more than Angus did.   
  
"Please, Dad? I'll stay right with Angus the whole time  _ and _ we can check in. But this? This is  _ boring." _   
  
Barry sighed and then gave in. "Alright, but here and the mall and that's it. Got it?"

“ _ Thank you _ ,” Angus grabbed Keats’ hand and instantly headed for the doors, “I bet they have a bookstore in there somewhere.....”

* * *

  
The mall was a sprawling thing, and did have several book stores, mostly geared towards history tourism. The food court was facing the river and was covered in windows to capitalize on this fact.    
  
Angus was bored in an hour.

Keats nudged Angus, popping another chicken nugget into his mouth. "Whatcha wanna do now?" He had been bored for a while, mostly paying attention to his phone and nothing else going on around them. He was vaguely considering heading back to one store that had jigsaw puzzles to see if they had anything interesting. He could always get one and do it in the room...

Angus kicked his legs and spun the pokestop next to their table, annoyed. He wanted to go to the museums or see the historical places Dad had been excited about.    
  
Glancing around the food court, he froze. There was  _ Lucas _ again, this time on his phone. Angus put his finger to his lip and slid out of his chair, walking casually until he reached the plant display Lucas was standing beside, while he gesticulated at his phone. Curling up small, Angus tilted his head to listen in.

Lucas pinched the bridge of his nose. "For the last time,  _ Daniel, _ we went over this. All you need to do is make sure that- No,  _ no, _ it's in 106A at- Yes, you have an hour to get there and just make sure that you disrupt the- Daniel.  _ Daniel, _ are you listening to me?"   
  
He looked up then, scanning the food court with a frown on his face. He didn't see Angus, but he did spot the other kid, Keats, sitting at the table still popping chicken nugget after chicken nugget into his mouth while he fiddled with his phone.   
  
"Just make sure it works. And don't call me again until you're done."

Angus scowled as Lucas hung up and walked away, reaching for his phone and scrolling through the itinerary Lup and given him. He frowned  _ harder _ when he saw the room name Keats was supposed to be at in a little over an hour.   
  
Glancing around furtively, he ran back to Keats, yanking one of his mindfulness beads,    
  
“I think Lucas is planning something.”

Keats set his phone down, looking his little brother over seriously. Then he nodded slowly. Angus looked serious.   
  
“Come on, I’m gonna buy a puzzle and you’re gonna tell me what you’ve got.”


	8. Chapter 8

Twenty minutes later they were thoroughly lost, despite the official map for the conference and Angus’s gps. He’d texted Barry _and_ Lup for good measure, but still...there was a part of Angus that wanted to be the one who caught whatever was happening.   
  
That and Keats had to find the room eventually _anyway_ .   
  
Pointing at a group of smokers, he groaned, “should we ask _them?_ ”

 

Keats looked at Angus uncertainly but then he nodded. “Probably should. I have no idea where I’m going.”  
  
He stood taller and walked up to the group, trying to remember how to talk like a normal modern teenager who certainly wasn’t dead.   
  
“Uuuuhhhhhh hail and well met, dudes.”

 

The group turned and looked at them both skeptically. The dwarven woman was the first to speak up,   
  
“....Hi. You boys here for the show?”   
  
Angus paused, but shook his head slowly, “no ma’am... the science conference. We’re trying to find the right panel room but we got lost.”

 

"Show?" Keats' ears flicked up and he looked the group over, interested. "What kind of show?" Then he looked guilty. "Uh... yeah... science panel. I'm trying to find 106A. I'm supposed to help out... but... what my brother said."

 

“Battle Fest Recruitment, all the best hopefuls get to fight us in public,” the half elven woman took a drag on her cigarette and winced, “yeah, this hotel is a nightmare of architecture. We wouldn’t even be over here, except our coworker has a tendency to _lecture_ about the dangers of smoking when he finds us outside,” she gestured across the street at an old theater.   
  
“He’s not wrong about it being bad for you, ma’am,” Angus said in his most polite child voice.   
  
The dwarven woman and the human man laughed, while the half elf groaned, “ _Yes_ , Yes I know...”   
  
The human man shook his head. “106A is going to be on the first floor, _not_ the ground floor. Good luck, kids.”

 

"Battle Fest? What kind of fighting? How old do you have to be?" Keats was looking at all of them excitedly. Then he sighed and his ears flicked back. "Thanks for the directions. Come on, Angus. Let's go see if we can find it now..."  
  
He wasn't going to forget about this though. Maybe he could sneak out and go have some fun later. Mom and Dad were practically guaranteed to get distracted once they all got back to the room (not that he wanted to think about _that_ too hard) and he could get out easy. But first, they had to figure out what Lucas Miller was up to.

 

“We have a website! Check out our twitter and Instagram, and blah blah blah, _there_. I did MARKETING.” The dwarven woman waved and turned back to her companions as Angus looked over his map for some stairs.

 

Keats spotted the stairs and pretty soon they were in the right hallway and on time. Even if Keats had stopped to dig a protein bar out of his backpack.  
  
"Okay, Holmes, what's the plan here?"

Angus frowned again; the hallway was filled with people walking back and forth, chattering in clumps, and the start of a line, probably for Noelle’s panel.   
  
“You’re part of the presentation, you should be able to get into the room, right? We gotta get in and see who doesn’t _fit_.”

 

"Yeah, let's go." Keats walked up to the security volunteer and held up his badge. He grabbed Angus by the arm as he walked forward "I'm supposed to be inside helping Noelle. And this is my little brother. He's supposed to stay with me. I'll get in lots and lots of trouble with our parents if I can't take him in with me."  
  
The volunteer looked at their badges and double checked the upcoming panel list. "Are you with-?"   
  
"With Noelle Redcheek."   
  
"In you go."

 Angus scowled, “That was _easy_ -“   


The room was... slightly less crowded than outside. There were a lot of tall people hauling the previous presentation aside to make room for Noelle’s set up, a group chattering excitedly, probably about what they had just seen and _there_ was Carey, her blue scales standing out among the skin, hair, and occasional fur around her.

 

Keats nodded. "You investigate. I need to go help Noelle. And Angus? If you get in trouble, holler, alright? I'll be right there."  
  
He headed over to check in, slightly unnerved as Noelle stopped in the middle of directing the placement of some giant arch _thing_ and started cackling maniacally. The table beside it had several models of the harness sitting beside some sort of tube full of brackish green fluid and a thing that looked like a butterfly net and a pasta strainer had some kind of steampunk baby they abandoned in a back alley.   
  
"Excuse me, Ma'am. Did you need help with anything else?"   
  
Noelle peered at him through her goggles for a long moment. "Your hair is getting lighter. Are you dying it or are you not eating enough?"   
  
Keats blinked a few times and then just decided to ignore the question. It didn't make any sense anyway. He would just... hang out over here. And pretend his life or whatever made sense.

 

Angus made sure his badge was obvious and put on an expression of wide eyed wonder as he wandered around the edges of the room. The chattering people probably were okay; they were distracted by each other and anyway, he didn’t think many people here would let Lucas talk to them like that.   
  
The set up volunteers though...   
  
As Keats wandered over to Noelle, Angus scoped out the people hauling the large machinery off the stage and lifting Noelle’s on.   
  
There was Killian who had stopped her conversation with Carey when they noticed Angus, a couple human men,and a bugbear.   
  
He blinked.   
  
The human men were doing that loud talking at each other thing that usually preceded a lot of pushing each other in high school kids, and the bug bear wasn’t talking to anyone besides asking where to put something.   
  
And Carey and Killian were looking at him.   
  
“Did... did my dad text you?”

 

Killian pulled her phone out and looked at it.  
  
"Not that I see, but he should be here soon. Everything okay?"   
  
Noelle was directing Keats to a spot off to the side where he could wait, babbling excitedly about how she couldn't wait to watch the faces in the crowd when he and Julia took off their harnesses.   
  
"Assuming you want to." She added belatedly. "And I'm not even going to touch your dad's. Buuuuuut I've got this really cool rig that shows how space bends around him and how it's different from the rest of you. Anchored ghosts are so fucking cool, you know?"

 

Angus checked his own phone and wilted. Not only had Barry not texted him back, but he was getting _no_ service.   
  
Well.   
  
Stepping closer he dropped his voice, looking over at  the volunteers nervously.   
  
“I heard Lucas Miller talking on the phone, telling someone named Daniel that he needed to- to come to this room and disrupt something. And that he had an hour and that was-“ he checked his phone again. “-That was _forty minutes_ ago....”

 

Killian glanced over at Carey. "We'll keep an eye on things, kid. Thanks though." As she walked off to go set up something else, she muttered to herself. "I don't know a Daniel..."  
  
Barry walked into the room a few minutes later, yet another coffee in hand. He was already fried from navigating this many crowds and now he was supposed to get up in front of one. Alright, sure, he just needed to stand there for this one and make sure Keats was alright. But _still._

 

Angus darted over to Barry as soon as he spotted him,   
  
“ _Dad_ , Dadadadad- did you get my texts? My phone isn’t working in here but I _know_ they sent from the mall and there’s something-“

 

Barry reached out to catch Angus and then laughed a little.  
  
"Hold your horses there, bud. What uh... what's going on? Where's the fire?"   
  
Barry pulled out his phone, giving it a look over. "I didn't get any texts. But uh... yeah, that's what I thought, no signal. What's up?"

 

Angus stopped and took three breaths. His hair was starting to crackle with unrestrained magic and Lup and Taako had both been drilling the idea into his head to lock that shit down _now_ , because nothing escalates a bad situation like- to take the example they both randomly used- a tongue of flame puffing out of one’s hand if one could not hang onto one’s temper.   
  
“I saw Lucas Miller in the food court and he was on the phone with someone named Daniel and he was telling him to come to THIS room and disrupt something in an hour and it took us a long time to find this room and _Daniel’s probably here_ .”   
  
One of his braids twisted up into a knot, the beads on the end clicking together. Angus scowled and grabbed it, tugging it hard.

 

Barry looked startled, but he knew better than to assume Angus was playing games right now.  
  
“Alright, do you know anything else, bud?”   
  
He didn’t know if Lup was coming to this presentation or not. Actually, given the schedule, she almost definitely wasn’t. He considered for a second and then nodded.   
  
“I want you to keep an eye out for anyone near Noelle’s stuff, alright? But it’s going to be okay. You did a real good job letting me know and everything’s going to be okay.”

 

“No... he walked away without saying anything else....” Angus yanked his braid again and watched Killian firmly herd the volunteers off the stage.   
  
The praise made him straighten a bit and he leaned a hug against Barry before nodding and going to pick out a seat in the front row.

 

Barry took a breath and then gave Angus a thumbs up. He would keep an eye on things as well. Hopefully, whatever was going on was a misunderstanding because if Lucas _was_ actually pulling something like this... Well, Barry wouldn't want to be Lucas when Maureen and Lup found out, that was for sure.   
  
Noelle strode to the back where Keats and Julia were waiting, adjusting her goggles as she went. "Alright, Waxmen, I've got the localized system set up so you can go ghost and _not_ poltergeist in like a wrecking ball. No matter how much I want to see that happen. _Apparently,_ I signed a safety waiver. I'm not convinced."   
  
Julia rolled her eyes but Keats was giggling. Barry walked back to join them, one eye on the equipment off to the side.

 

Angus swung his legs and looked around. The seats were filling up fast, and he couldn’t see the edges of the room much. The volunteers had left, except for the bugbear, who was standing uncomfortably next to the side door. He met Angus’s eyes, and his widened slightly, before baring his teeth and walking out.   
  
Angus frowned; he didn’t know much about bugbear body language, but that almost seemed... guilty?   
  
Maybe he was looking for patterns to fit his hypothesis. That was a bad habit.   
  
Sighing, he turned his attention back to the stage.

Noelle pulled on a lab coat and gave Keats a look. Then she strode out to the front and grabbed a microphone.   
  
"Shut up and sit down. It's time to rock and roll. If you're in the front couple rows and you've got goggles, maybe put them on. If you don't have goggles, what the fuck is wrong with you? This is science. Get goggles."   
  
From there, she jumped right in explaining a particular subset of quantum mechanics that interacted with ectoplasm and etherics. She gestured and the others walked forward, each wearing their harnesses outside their clothing. She began to explain those and then grinned.   
  
"Alright, Keats, you're up first."   
  
Barry reached out to catch Keats' harness as the boy closed his eyes and undid the straps. When he walked forward and the harness lost contact with his back, there was a moment and then his soft footsteps turned to light clicks of bone on tile. It was hard to gauge the emotions on the face of a skeleton in 1960s BDUs that were splattered with blood, but Keats didn't look overly comfortable in that moment. Then he stepped back and Barry held the harness out to him again. He clicked it closed and then groaned. He'd forgotten his old uniform would override his clothing when he did that.   
  
"Dammit, I _liked_ those jeans."

 

There gasps and murmurs from the audience that turned into nervous laughter at Keats’ comment. Angus rolled his eyes because _some_ people would laugh at _anything_ .   
Still, he gave another cursory glance around the room without seeing anything that qualified as ‘suspicious’.   
  
Maybe he should volunteer after to run up to the room and get Keats a new shirt so he didn’t have to walk through the hotel all bloody.

 

Keats' ears flicked down but he was trying very hard to ignore what he was wearing now. He hated it, he hated this, and he really didn't know why he'd agreed. If it wasn't for the fact that he was basically an adult (in human terms, anyway) and that he was in front of a whole crowd, he would have run off to find Mom. Instead, he just moved closer to Dad.   
  
Julia stretched a little, walking forward. "Alright, I'm next. Carey, hit the switch, okay?"   
  
Carey gave Julia a thumbs up and Julia waited until a dull blue glow had suffused the front of the room before she unbuckled her harness and it dropped through it. For a moment, she stood there looking much like herself but translucent. Then the blue light suddenly faded and she flickered violently, looking more and more like a specter from a nightmare. The sound system began to rattle, letting out an awful screaming sound. The chairs shook violently and an empty chair lifted up into the air and slammed into a wall.

 

Angus was on his feet, hands flying to his braids and gripping his charms for clarity and focus.   
  
_This_ was what Lucas had meant and it needed to stop to _stop_ before someone got _hurt_ \-   
  
The chair he’d been sitting in lifted and he could sense Julia’s power around him. It wasn’t a carbonated ironice fizz like Dad’s, it was _needles_ . Needles that flew everywhere, trying to stick into things and stabilize and smelled of bleach, astringent and suffocating.   
  
It needed.... it needed to stop. _STOP._   
  
Angus held out his hands and focused on the source, Miss Julia who always laughed big and gave great hugs. She was looking scared and yelling for Carey, and he just needed to-   
  
His power flexed along long ago used lines, more under his control, and he knew how this worked now, he could do it _better_ .   
  
Julia went absolutely still, her power shoved back into her and Angus trembled and twisted his stasis ward into itself to keep it locked down.

 

Barry was frozen in place, eyes wide. It was Keats that moved when the stasis ward went up. He grabbed Julia's harness and helped her getting back on as quickly as he possibly could. As she buckled it back into place with hands that were shaking, Keats looked over her shoulder at Angus. They needed to figure out who Daniel was and they needed to figure out if Lucas had anyone else here. Then he exhaled slowly. And they needed proof.  
  
"Jules, you good?" That was Noelle, looking pale and shaken for once.   
  
Julia nodded a little, adjusting how her harness was sitting. Her hands were shaking and she mouthed 'thank you' to Angus with a little smile before she started scanning the crowd for Magnus. She needed to be Not Here.

 

Angus dropped the ward and sat down on the ground _hard_ . He knew he was in his body still because his ears were buzzing, but it was like trying to pilot it from a very long way away and the controls weren’t labeled.   
  
He wanted Tess.   
  
Slowly, he inhaled and exhaled, flexing his fingers until it felt like they were a part of him again. His head was still buzzing, but maybe he could... could pilot his body better. Yeah. Keats needed a new shirt. Right.   
  
He could do that, just as soon as he could stand up.

 

Barry didn't care what Noelle and Carey were saying. Keats was handling the situation with Julia and Magnus was already running to her from the back of the room. He knelt beside Angus, putting a hand on his shoulder.  
  
"Angus, look at me. You okay, bud?" His voice was quiet. He could see that Angus was on the edge and he didn't want to startle his son. "Everything's okay. We're real lucky you're so good with your magic. I'm proud of you."

 

Angus nodded slowly, one hand coming up to grip the one Barry had on his shoulder, feeling the normalcy of carbonated ice magic with the tang of iron.   
  
Much better than needles that smelled like bleach.   
  
“Keats... Keats is gonna need, need a new shirt, he shouldn’t walk around all bloody like that...”

 

"Yeah, he is. And we can uh... we can take care of that in a minute. But I need to make sure you're okay too."  
  
Barry was halfway inclined to just pick Angus up and take him and Keats back to the room. None of this was supposed to happen, this was supposed to just be science and relaxing.   
  
"Come on, bud. Let's go get your brother a shirt and find your mom. I can carry you if you want."

 

“Excuse me? Sir?” There was a halfling woman with a bright yellow Security vest on standing next to them, looking apologetic. “Sorry about this, but I’m going to need your name for the incident report, and also what, uh, what he- what the kid _did_.”

 

Barry looked up, pinching the bridge of his nose. "I'm Barry Bluejeans. His name is Angus. And I'd _really_ like to take my kids back to the hotel room and make sure they're alright, if that's okay with you."

 

The halfling‘s ears pinned back apologetically as she wrote this down quickly,   
  
“Yes, I understand completely, sir, it’s just that I need to know-“   
  
“I put a stasis on her...” Angus whispered, the hand on Barry’s arm starting to tremble.   
  
“What was that, hun? Stasis spell?” The halfling was writing quickly, “you put that on Julia Waxman to contain the, uhhh, the sing gu larity-“ she trailed off, writing.   
  
“Without asking-“ Angus was starting to shiver much harder.

 

Barry scooped Angus up in his arms, hugging the boy. "It's okay, Ango. You didn't have time to ask. And that's... that's okay sometimes." Then he looked at the halfling. "Can I go?"  
  
Keats jogged over, ears pinned back. "I tried to call Mom but my phone's still not working." He looked pale and more than a little shaken, but not nearly as bad as Angus.

 

The halfling looked over Angus’s shivering, Barry’s expression, and Keats’ grey face and clearly came to the decision it wasn’t worth it.   
  
“Yeah, that should do it for us, thanks for your help, and we’re super sorry about this.” 

* * *

 

Lup strode out into the hotel lobby, flushed with the success of her and Taako’s back to back panels, which had kicked _ass_ like she knew they would.   
  
As she walked past the help desk, her phone started vibrating with all the texts and missed calls she hadn’t been able to receive in the conference rooms and her mood and ears flattened.   
  
“What the _fuck_ \- I leave those three for a few _hours-_ ”   
  
Taako beside her was checking his texts with Kravitz and looked up in confusion as she headed for the elevators at a run.

 

Barry had gotten the boys up to their room and was sitting on the floor between them. Keats hadn’t changed yet. He was leaning against Barry with his ears pinned back and his eyes closed.   
  
Barry was trying to reassure them both, an arm around each of them. The shock of everything that had happened was suddenly hitting him and he wasn’t sure if he was relieved he hadn’t decided to trust in the portable anchoring system they had worked out, terrified by how close things had gotten to someone getting hurt, or angry that Lucas had apparently pulled a stunt like this.   
  
He looked up at the sound of footsteps running down the hall and smiled just slightly. Lup was back. Good.

 

The door rattled as Lup pushed her key in it wrong the first time, growled, and got it the second, sending pings of inquiry verging on panic ahead of her.   
  
Angus looked up as she burst into the room, eyes still far away as he tried to get back all the way into his body. Laying against Barry helped, but Lup’s warmth and cinnamon woodsmoke magic was the familiarity he wanted next, “Lucas Miller is a dick, Mom.”

 

Barry looked up at her, a relieved smile on his face. "Lup, _fuck,_ today's been a mess."   
  
Keats got up, still pale and shaken, but finally _needing_ to get out of this blood soaked shirt. He went to his bag, digging around in it until he found a clean shirt. "The ether ate my clothes again..." Then he gave his head a little shake. "Don't forget about Daniel too, Angus. We still need to figure out who Daniel was because Lucas wasn't working alone."

 

“Awww _no_ , michen-“ Lup sat down next to Angus, intentionally squishing him between her and Barry and throwing an arm around him. Angus buried his face in her side and breathed.   
  
Right. Ok.   
  
“I think it might have been the bugbear we saw. He didn’t like me watching him and his vest fit all funny, like it wasn’t his.”

 

Keats tugged a new shirt on and dropped back to sit next to Lup. “Can we go home, Mom?”

 

Lup sighed, wrapping an arm around his shoulders, mentally running through the logistics of doing so, “S’up to your dad there, he’s the one with a panel tomorrow.”   
  
Angus sat up, “But we don’t know if Lucas is going to do anything else!”

 

Barry adjusted his glasses and sighed. "I really do need to do that presentation with Davenport... But you don't have to go back to the conference if you don't want to, Keats."  
  
Keats looked over at Angus and then at Barry. He tugged on one of his ears for a moment and then nodded. "You're right, [little brother.] We have to make sure nobody else gets hurt."   
  
Barry looked at Lup, startled and not entirely convinced that the kids running around playing hero was the best idea.

 

Lup’s ears were back and she was giving Keats her most Momliest look,   
  
“Now- _hold on_ , who the fuck said that was _your_ responsibility?”   
  
“But we’re the only ones who know to _do_ anything!”   
  
The far away look in Angus’s eyes was gone, his expression sharp and determined now.   
“We can go to the hotel security, but all they can do is keep Lucas away from us, and he’s al _ready_ not allowed near Maureen, and it’s my word against his he even said anything and we don’t know who Daniel is and we don’t have _proof_ yet-“   
  
He took a breath, mouth set firm, “-but _we_ know he’s trouble and he doesn’t know we know.”

 

Keats had started to deflate under Lup's gaze but then he perked up, ears flicking straight up. "Angus is right, Mom. They're not gonna listen to a couple kids and they're gonna think it was just a dumb accident. But we know it wasn't and he doesn't know that yet. And I don't want him to keep doing stuff and end up actually hurting somebody. Like... like what if he hurts Mo? Or you or Dad? We know he's mad at all of you and he's obviously up to something. That's what they do in Angus' mystery books. They go after the people they're mad at."  
  
Barry was still uncertain and he looked at Lup and then at Angus and Keats. "Guys, I know this... I know this was a lot and I know you guys don't like Lucas but-"   
  
"We're not making things up, Dad! And I'm not scared of him. I'm not letting him keep doing this, no matter what you're gonna say. Unless you put us both on a plane going back home, we're doing this."

 

Lup’s ears were still eased back, but she caught Barry’s look and sighed, stretching her arms over her head, “I _did_ say pig headed stubbornness is a family trait... yeah, right, sure, you’re _right_ , maybe. _BUT-!_ ” she held up a finger at both of them,   
  
“I want some ground rules here- if you’re going to do mystery kids sleuthing, you’re _not_ going to be be stupid about it, right? You’re going to stick together, you’re NOT leaving the hotel without us knowing _exactly_ where you’re going- and I MEAN that, cell phones or no, if you can’t reach us, you don’t do SHIT. And the MOMENT you see him do anything remotely dangerous, you find hotel security and set them on him. Have Angus pull his scared kid face, what _ever_. You just get him thrown out unless it’s arrestable.”

 

Keats sighed. “Yes, Mom.” Then he gave her a grin more commonly seen on her face than his. “Can I at least punch him a little?”  
  
“Keats...” Barry’s tone had a note of warning in it, even if he secretly liked the idea.

 

“Only if you can spin it as self defense or I get to watch,” Lup answered in all innocence. She grinned at Barry’s expression, “oh come _on_ , babe. We still owe him for your harness.”   
  
Angus flopped back into the couch, relaxing fully, “Can we get lunch now?”

 

“Yes, yes we can.” Barry stood up. “And I’m done with panels for the day if you want to maybe go get lunch somewhere fun.”  
  
Keats punched the air excitedly. “Food! I’m starving!”

* * *

 

Lucas tapped his foot and scrolled through Noelle’s twitter feed in the dummy account he used to follow her. Her follower count had jumped in the last hour, and the video someone had taken of Julia going full poltergeist and that one kid stopping it was already gaining a ton of views.  
  
One of those was supposed to happen, but not the other.   
  
Noelle and Carey had tweeted out that Julia was fine, and the incident was under investigation. Which was cool and all but people were _supporting_ them instead of telling them off for bad safety practices.   
  
Well fuck.   
  
“You couldn’t have hit the warding machine for Barry instead?”

 

Klaarg twisted a napkin between his hands and looked at Lucas.  
  
“I wasn’t sure which one was which, Sir. I tried, I did. And... and the boy suspected me. I had to leave. He was staring.”   
  
The napkin was slowing falling to the ground like snowflakes, tiny pieces of paper hitting the floor.

 

“Yeah whatever, I guess that’s not _your_ fault....” Lucas muttered, still scrolling. “Kid was probably just bored and staring wherever though. And he’s like, eight. Who’s gonna believe him?”   
  
Scoffing, he tossed his phone on the table and ran his hands through his hair,   
“Right, they requested another crew to set up the monitors for Bluejeans and Davenport tomorrow, so _this_ time, I just need you to _put_ something somewhere and I’ll write out the instructions in large letters and small words, sound better?”

 

The last of the napkin was gone now and Klaarg looked up.  
  
“I... I can do that. I won’t screw it up this time, I promise.”   
  
Klaarg wished he could just go back across the street to the theater, could just go back to the Battle Fest and pretend that Lucas Miller had never found him again.

 

“ _Better_ not,” Lucas pulled a box out of his pocket and slid it across the table, followed by a paper with written instruction and a tiny diagram with a red arrow pointing on it.   
  
“This is the last one and then you can go back to your fake fighting or whatever and we’ll pretend this never happened.”

 

Klaarg took both, reading over the paper. Then he glared at Lucas before turning towards the door. He wasn't so sure Lucas was telling the truth any more than he ever had before.


	9. Chapter 9

Saturday panels started at a much more reasonable ten in the morning, and Barry's didn't need setting up until after lunch, and Angus was going to use that time to his best advantage. Mom and Dad had left the hotel room to sit in on their chosen presentations and Angus was spread out on the coffee table with the contents of his work bag and some beads he'd begged off Lup.   
  
He was so engrossed in his work, he didn't notice at ALL that Keats was up for breakfast, focused on the string and beads in his hands, tongue poking out of the side of his mouth.

Keats dropped a bowl of cereal next to Angus and continued on with his usual morning routine. Sit-ups, push-ups, jumping jacks, more push-ups. He should really talk Mom and Dad into letting him get a punching bag in the basement. At least a speed bag. He'd already eaten two bowls of cereal and a protein bar and was seriously contemplating getting more food before they went back to the conference.    
  
But for now, his exercises were done and he sat next to Angus. "Okay, [little brother], what's the plan?"

Angus jumped at the cereal bowl and stared at it as if he'd never seen one before.   
  
"Wha-  _ Oh! _ " He held up what looked like a friendship bracelet with three different colored beads on it, "I'm making us walkie talkies!"

Keats blinked a few times and just slowly reached for the soda he'd left on the table. "O-okay... Wanna explain that? Because, in case you forgot, I still don't do magic."

"I'll show you!" Angus held out the bracelet (blue and red string with shiny, oblong black beads, all shining with the runes for 'speak' 'quiet' 'bad') "Put it on, I'll put mine on!"

Keats tied it on carefully, making sure the knots would stay. Then he looked at Angus expectantly.

Angus grabbed his bracelet (pink and green with yellow beads) and scrambled up and for the bedroom. He shut the door with a slam and almost instantly the bead with the 'speak' rune on it lit up on Keats' hand.

Keats stared at it and then touched the bead. "Angus, what are you doing?"

"Walkie talkies!" Came the answer from the bead, "Now we don't need phones if we get separated!"   
  
Angus walked out of the room, beaming, and held up his wrist, "See? I did a mute button and if you grab the 'bad' bead for the count of three it'll start an alarm!"

Keats laughed and then hugged Angus tightly, scooping him up and swinging him around. "You are  _ brilliant! _ This is gonna be great." He tugged on one ear, thinking. "Okay, so we need to figure out what Lucas is gonna hit next. Have you got the schedule? I'm betting he went after Noelle's thing because she wouldn't work with him before. That sounds like a solid motive, right?"

Angus nodded firmly, pulling the schedule up on his phone,    
  
"I think he might go for Dad next, cause it was him pulling, uh-" Angus scowled at his phone, scrolling down. "-That dinner. Anyway, that's when Maureen disowned him and everything. So it's gotta be Dad's fault, right?"   
  
He shrugged helplessly, "I can't find anyone else today that he might- might have gone to school with or worked with, but I don't  _ know _ that......"

"Then we watch Dad and make sure nothing happens. Think we can get a solid sitrep before Dad gets into position?" Keats was leaning forward, elbows on the table, and expression deadly serious.

Angus pulled up the itinerary Lup had set up for them,    
"He and Captain Davenport have a half hour to set up their panel, and they're including Miss Noelle. So  _ that _ means they have to have a crew set up their stuff...." he glanced at Keats, "I think we should see if the crew has anyone from yesterday and keep a closer eye on them."

“Then we should get going so we can be in position. And so I can grab a snack on the way.” Keats got up, grabbing his badge on the way by. Then he stopped. “Hey Angus, how good are you with your camera?”

"How good are the pictures or how sneaky can I take them?" Angus sat again and started spooning cereal into his mouth.

"Both." Keats started pacing, thinking. "I know Mom thinks telling security is enough but we're a pair of  _ kids. _ We're gonna need proof. No matter how sad, scared, and cute you look, if we don't have proof, we've got nothing."

Angus nodded, gulping cereal, "I can do that- at least I'll  _ try _ and take a lot and we'll see if anything sticks..."   
  
Finishing, he carried the bowl over to the box and filled the leftover milk up, still frowning, "it might help if we knew why his accomplice was doing this.....I don't think he has enough money to make being arrested worth it. And if someone had gotten hurt when Julia was going poltergeisting..."

Keats shuddered. "Yeah... that could've killed somebody if it kept going. I'm pretty sure, anyway..." Keats pulled out a notepad and pencil and sat back at the table.   
  
"Okay, possible motives for the accomplice. What've we got? It's not money, probably."

Angus pulled a notebook and pen out of his charm bag and started writing, "'Possible'.....'motives'.....'for accomplice'....."   
  
He thought.   
  
"'Money, but he isn't very smart'......Lucas......scared him? Maybe?" His mouth twisted at that thought. "Lucas is LYING to him about what he's doing...."

"He could also just want to." Keats tugged on his ear again. "He could have found someone else with a vendetta?"

Angus chewed his pen and nodded, adding that, “Miss Noelle and Julia probably have some enemies.”    
  
He frowned at the list, which wasn’t as helpful as he’d hoped. Snapping the notebook shut, he started to clean up his workstation, not wanting to leave scattered charm bits behind.

Keats nodded and tapped his own notes. "So we need to figure out who Daniel is and figure out if Lucas has anyone else working for him... And we need to make sure no strangers get near Dad. Ready to go?"

Angus looked over his area as he shrugged his pack on, wand in the strap pocket, NASA pen in his jeans pocket, talkie bracelet smelling of citrus and faint background cinnamon, room key-   
  
He grinned, “let’s go!”    
  
The hotel was still confusing but easier to navigate now that Angus had spent time figuring out what the numbers meant for each floor.    
  
The lobby crossed to the conference center and people were swirling around, chattering in groups about the science and magic panels, and- in several cases- the various fighting matches they’d seen (or been in) across the street.    
Angus gripped Keats’ hand, resigning himself to looking childish in favor of not getting separated in the press of people in winter garb of all sorts.

Keats held Angus' hand just as tightly, nervous in the large crowds. His ears flicked back and his eyes darted around, looking for anyone who might be suspicious. They were almost to the room where Dad's panel was going to be and he was on edge, falling back into old habits. And that was, as always, dangerous.

Angus felt the tension in Keats’ hand and stepped forward at the door, showing his badge and smiling winningly at the volunteer.    
  
“Our  _ Dad’s _ in there!”    
  
Okay, it was maybe a little over the top, but the beaming smile and Keats’ last name on his badge at least got them a confused smile rather than suspicion.    
  
He pulled them to a back row, everything was slightly raised and running down into the stage at the bottom, and they could see the whole room from there.    
  
“See anyone?”

Keats was carefully scanning the entire room, eyes narrowed. He hadn't paid a bit of attention to the security volunteer on the way through. He was much more intent on potential threats and dealing with that problem. Then he spotted a group of volunteers helping move one of Noelle's devices into the room.   
  
"3 O'Clock."

“Wait if we’re standing on the clock, which-“ Angus spotted the bugbear and almost bounced to his feet, “ _ That’s the one she was gonna use for Dad-! _ ”

"We have to make sure he didn't break anything. Do you know how that thing works?" Keats was scanning the room, looking for anyone else he could talk to. Dad would work, but he really wanted Mom in that moment.

“No, but Dad said it was to show how he looks without a harness and I don’t want it fucking up.”    
  
Angus started moving along the row, heading down towards the stage.

"Oh  _ fuck. _ You look for that, I'm gonna find Mom just in case." Angus was good at what he did, Keats was sure of that. But when it came to make sure Dad didn't suddenly fade off into the ether, they all wanted Mom to be there. Keats had seen a lot of magic in his life and he was pretty sure that Mom could do anything if she needed to.

Angus nodded, sliding into a group of adults looking for seats with a beaming “Excuse me!” Before wandering to the edge of the stage and putting an expression of blank amazement on his face.    
  
The bugbear was following the rest of the work crew off the stage but wasn’t  _ with _ them, just hooking his claws in his vest and looking grumpy.    
  
Angus changed his trail of thought; he just APPEARED grumpy because of all the hair on his face. But his ears were flat, so maybe he was unhappy about SOMETHING.    
  
“Hi! Did they ask you to help with this one because you moved Miss Noelle’s stuff before?”

Klaarg stopped, eyes going wide as he looked down at the young boy in front of him. Oh, this was very bad. Very, very bad.    
  
"That... that's exactly right, small child. I was just working. Doing my job."   
  
He pushed the small box further under the machinery they'd put in place.

Angus widened his eyes further, pretending excitement, “Do you get to do this a lot??” His eyes flicked to the badge on the bugbear’s vest; Klaarg. Well, it wasn’t Daniel, but it WAS a very old fashioned bugbear name, so....    
  
“I haven’t  _ ever _ been to a convention like this before, how do you get a job here?”

Klaarg looked even less comfortable and looked over to the doors. He needed to stay to set off the device, but he also wanted out of there, "I volunteered. It’s a really nice gig. Gets you in for free for a little work. Shouldn't you be with a parent and/or guardian?"

“Oh yeah, they’re over there-“ Angus waved in the direction of a group of intensely chattering adults, he thought he heard something about video games and they wouldn’t notice  _ anything _ . “What’s the best tech you’ve seen?”

Klaarg looked over in the direction Angus had waved, spying a few adults. None of them seemed to be paying any attention. Okay, maybe he could just find a way to distract this kid and then get a seat? Yeah, that could work. Deflect.    
  
"Oh, I actually really liked this sort of stuff. The... the ghost science. I'm hoping to stick around and watch this one too."

" _ Really- _ " No, not narrowed eyes, wide ones, pretend happy. "I hope it goes better than the one yesterday! Did you see that one?"

"Oh yeah... that was awful." Klaarg could feel his fur standing on end. He really did not like how this child was prying into things. How much did he know? "I'm probably going to sit in the back. Just in case, you know?"

_ Bingo _ . Angus smiled at him, cheerfully, "Sounds like the responsible thing to do! OhIthinkIhearmybrothercallingBYE!"   
  
Turning, he jumped off the stage and ran up to the seats they'd saved, clutching at his bracelet, "Keats! Come in Keats, I think I found our mole, over."

Keats was in the corner of the room, ears pressed tight against the sides of his head as he looked around frantically. When he suddenly heard Angus' voice, he very nearly jumped out of his own skin. But after a second, he remembered, and he raised his wrist to tap the bead.   
  
"I copy. What's your six? What sort of bogey are we eyeing?"

"Bugbear. I think he's on my six but I'm turning around now," there were people in front of their chairs so Angus was hidden as he saw Klaarg also move off the stage and head to the opposite side of the room, away from where he's seen Angus go.    
"Headed to the- the nine? Or the eight, I think. He said he's staying to watch."

"I don't copy and you need to learn comm speak, [little brother.]"    
  
Keats looked around again and then headed towards where he and Angus were supposed to be sitting. He dropped into his chair and then looked at Angus. "Okay, try that again."

Angus squinted, then pointed quickly, "He's the only bugbear in the whole  _ fucking _ room, [big brother]."   
  
One of the people in front of them, an elf woman, turned around, frowning slightly. Angus beamed at her until she turned back.

Keats snorted. "Alright, alright, I see. Cool your jets. So, what's the plan?"   
  
Klaarg waited in the back while Barry and Davenport came out of the back and started in on their presentation. It was... fascinating and confusing. There was a lot about planar interactions and the ways that the spectral interacted with the physical. And then Noelle came out to operate her device, to show how the planar fields shifted and bent around Barry even when he was in his physical form. Klaarg felt his chest go tight. That was his cue. He produced a small remote control from his pocket, waiting for just the right moment.

“We should have sat closer to get pictures....”   
  
Angus sat almost still during the presentation, trying to keep an eye on Klaarg while actually  _ wanting _ to listen in on what Dad and Captain Davenport were talking about.    
  
He saw Klaarg fidget and look down at something, and tugged at Keats’ sleeve,    
“[Big brother, he’s mov-]”   
  
The elven woman in front of them turned and hissed at Keats,    
  
“[Will you  _ keep _ your halfway child  _ quiet _ , I swear to the Seldarine he shouldn’t even be IN here!]”

Keats had been starting to turn to see what Angus was talking about. Then that  _ woman _ spoke and his ears flicked straight up. His thoughts scattered for a moment and then solidified with something Mom had told him once as the only thing running through his mind, something about how people matter no matter how long they're going to be in this world and how common the thought is among other elves that the shorter lived races are somehow lesser. And then he was out of his seat and he slammed his fist full force into this woman's jaw, whoever the fuck she thought she was. He didn't care. She didn't get to call his brother  _ that. _   
  
Klaarg nearly tossed the remote when the sudden brawl broke out but instead he slammed the button, tossed the remote under a seat closer to where a fight seemed to be breaking out, and fled.   
  
Noelle's device was displaying energy field lines around Barry and around Davenport, showing the differences in the way they interacted with the world, showing the way Barry altered the world simply by being. And then the device suddenly died.

To Lup, standing in the wings, it looked as if everything had happened at once. She was grinning, watching Noelle bounce around with large gestures in her excitement at  _ look how cool _ when there was a yelp of pain and anger in the audience followed by another shout. As she stepped forward to see what was happening, Noelle’s device died... started beeping and flared on again,  _ much _ more intensely and-    
  
And Barry’s harness power pack was making alarm noises  _ too! _   
  
Lup felt like she was running in slow motion as a tear formed behind where Barry was standing, the odd wave movements of the device pulling at his magic and pulling at the fabric of-    
  
She felt a surge of cold coming out of it and she did not like that  _ one fucking bit _ .

At first, Keats didn't notice that anything was wrong. He was too busy trying very hard not to be dragged back by adult hands. He was pretty proud of himself, he'd remembered the right spot to knock her flat in one go and not hurt his hand. He was pretty sure that at least one of his combat instructors would have approved. And then he felt the sudden bone-deep, bitter cold. It called to him and something in him echoed that call. And he didn't like that one bit.    
  
Barry's harness hadn't died completely, not yet. Mostly because he was holding it together through sheer force of will. The thing with being what amounts to a physics mage when a localized EMP goes off is that you feel it, and feel it Barry did. He'd managed to conserve a tiny amount of power, just enough to stay solid. But he was burning through it faster than he expected and he felt cold. The harness was absolutely about to enter shut down mode when he turned around and found himself staring into a open abyss, one he could see shadowed figures through. They seemed to be pacing and staring at him with wide, hungry eyes.    
  
"Don't like that."

Noelle was scrambling for the controls, growled when it was clear they were useless, and dropped to the panels that hid the power generators.    
  
“What the  _ fuck _ did someone-!”    
  
Lup ignored her, ignored Cap’nport’s voice ringing out calling for calm, all that MATTERED was the extra battery in her pocket now her hand and getting to Barry,    
  
“Babe, I need to swap them, this is going to be  _ real ass fun _ , can you stay solid for.... for one point five seconds?”

Barry nodded a little, reaching blindly for her hand as he stared into that gaping abyss.    
  
“Trying... battery’s toast, babe.” He was flickering a little at the edges, even in his physical form. But his form was holding. The status lights had gone out and his form was holding.

“Yup, s’why we have extras you’re doing  _ great _ love you just keep that up-“    
  
She fumbled with the old battery, hitting the casing to get it to pop out. The fried battery fell to the ground and she ignored it, pushing the new one with trembling hands into place. There was a click and the status lights came on.    
  
Angus was glad he was so small, able to push past people before they realized he was there and run down to the stage where Mom was gripping Dad’s hand and staring at the tear in space as Captain Davenport was writing something in the air around it.    
  
“ _ Dad! _ ”

Barry was freezing cold, cold in a bone-deep way that even he could feel for once. He heard Angus’ voice and turned, still gripping Lup’s hand tightly.   
  
“Right here, bud. Everything’s okay.” He was shaking a little and that rend in reality still seemed to call him, to tug at something deep inside him. He wasn’t going to let go of Lup for anything at this point.   
  
Keats couldn’t see what was happening any more. He was trying to shout but hands had dragged him away from the now unconscious woman and out into the hall. He kept right on shouting, trying to get someone’s attention. Mom. Dad. Angus. Cap’nport. Anyone. But the door slammed and he was roughly shoved down the hallway. He was definitely in trouble this time.

“Alright gang, sealing up the veil between planes is  _ not _ how I thought this afternoon was going to go, but here we are. Lup, you’re the needle; Barry, can you anchor like this? Oh, Angus, good, we can use you, bud.”    
  
Lup took a shuddering breath and fell into herself. This was a job, that was all. Everything was chaos around her but it didn’t matter, she had Barry’s hand in hers and Angus was right there, offering her a boost, as Davenport showed her the structure.    
  
Right.    
  
For a brief moment as she worked her power at the edges of the material plane and drew them firmly together, she thought she caught a... familiar look on someone’s face in the abyss beyond. Amusement? Well AT LEAST SOMEONE was entertained.    
  
The rift closed and the awful bone deep cold stopped.

Barry swayed on his feet for a moment when the portal closed, then he grinned. “Okay, that was uh... that was something. Could we maybe not do that again?” He looked around then. Lup was next to him, Angus was right there. Where the fuck was Keats?

“Agreed. Hey Noelle? Any ideas what the fuck?” Lup was starting to shake as the last few minutes caught up with her and oh  _ good _ security was here and now they had a reputation for explosively Things Gone Wrong and Angus was tugging on her sleeve and she really wasn’t in the mood for  _ any of this- _   
  
Wait.   
  
“ _ Mom. _ Keats punched someone and now he’s gone and I didn’t MEAN to leave him but I thought he was behind me and I can’t see him and he’s not answering my call,  _ Mom! _ ”   
  
Fuck.

Keats had stopped fighting once it became clear that the orc with a hand on his shoulder was the head of the conference security team. His ears flicked back and his shoulders slumped. He was going to be in so much trouble when his parents found out he'd gotten his ass thrown out. Mom would  _ probably _ be okay with him decking a bitch for being mean to Angus, but definitely not with getting dragged bodily out by security.    
  
Then he was shoved into a conference room that wasn't being used and into a chair. He looked up, expecting the usual questions. Who are your parents? Where are they? How can we get in contact with them? Do you know how much trouble you're in, young man?    
  
Instead, he found himself looking up into the scowling face of Lucas Miller as the orc pulled out a bag of zip ties.    
  
"The little one ran to their parents before I could grab him, boss, but I got this snoop."   
  
Keats tried to get to his feet only to be shoved back down and his wrists and ankles zip tied to the chair.   
  
"Holy shit, you absolute  _ egg, _ are you  _ gone? _ This is kidnapping!"

“Not really, I’m just here while you’re being detained,” Lucas was trying to sound bored but mostly ended up sounding sulky. “Good job making a scene right there, totally helped out a lot.”    
  
His fingers were drumming impatiently on the table and his mouth was tight as he stared at Keats, frowning.

“He  _ just _ said he was trying to nab my brother too. Do you think I’m some kind of idiot?” Keats was considering the zip ties. He’d learned a lot of ways to get out of a lot of things, but this was something new. And he didn’t even have Dad and Julia’s trick of popping his harness off. He was still solid underneath, even if he wasn’t exactly a flesh boy.    
  
“So, what’s it gonna be? Blackmail? Extortion? Ransom? I know a lot about this stuff now. You’d never believe how many detective shows there are and Angus watches all of them.

Lucas snorted and rolled his eyes,    
  
“Yeah. Right. Don’t be so dramatic, all I want is you to undo... whatever it is you did to get my mom to change her will.”

“What?” Keats blinked a few times, the wind very much taken out of his sails. “I didn’t... do anything?”

Lucas’s face screwed up in petulant anger and slammed his fist onto the table,    
  
“Of  _ course _ you fucking did! Not only did she cut me off, but she gave most of it to  _ you _ two! Do you think  _ I’m _ an idiot? You DID something and I want you to UNdo it!”

Keats stared at Lucas, utterly dumbstruck. "Mo did  _ what?" _   
  
He tugged a little on the zip ties, trying to figure out how to get out of them. They were pretty solid. Worse, he couldn't get to the bracelet Angus had made. Not without some serious contorting. "Okay so lemme see if I've got this. You think that we... what? Talked Mo into cutting you off? I hadn't seen her in fifty years and  _ you almost killed my dad. _ So think again about who made her do what."

Lucas sat back in his chair, throwing his hands up, “I  _ said _ I was sorry! And I don’t know  _ what _ you said to her after I left!”    
  
Glowering at Keats, he went back to tapping on the table, “....and he’s dead anyway, it’s not like real murder. So you need to tell her she’s  _ wrong _ .”

_ "Excuse _ me??" Keats tugged even harder at the restraints. "Have you gone entirely around the bend? I'll show you real murder, you [asshole]."   
  
Keats managed to tilt the chair, knocking it over, but this did nothing to help him. Instead, he fell to the side, still restrained, and hit his head on the floor. He yelped and tried to curl in on himself to minimize his hurts. Between that and the carpet, he would be fine, but it still hurt.

Sighing, Lucas stood up and walked to the door, not bothering to move Keats,    
“Hey Garry, I think the kid is gonna hurt himself. Better come check.”    
  
As the orc came back, Lucas looked down at Keats with some disgust,    
“You don’t even  _ know _ her anymore, I don’t know why she likes you so much.”

* * *

 

Barry looked around again and fished out his phone. Still no signal. They’d have to track Keats down another way, “I’ll go see if anyone knows what happened. Lup, I’ll let you know if I find him. Angus, stay with your mom, buddy.”

Angus nodded, leaning against Lup’s side and trying not to let his magic explode out in stress, “I didn’t know he wasn’t behind me, I should have waited for him, I’m sorry-“    
  
Lup reached down to tug a braid and patted his shoulder after,“None of  _ that _ . It wasn’t your job to look after him, lil man, and you did the right thing coming to help.”    
  
Despite her words, Lup’s ears were pinned back and had a tendency to tilt down as she looked around the hallway, “Not  _ right _ though, them not telling us if they took him to somewhere. I mean, if he punched someone, sure okay, but  _ still _ ....” She looked down the hall after Barry and chewed her lip.

Barry figured the logical place for them to take Keats if he was in trouble was to the security desk, so when the dwarven woman behind the desk had absolutely no idea what he was talking about and neither did the half-orc man who came by to check in, he started to worry. He pulled his phone out, checking it over. Still no signal, dammit. He sent a little ping of worry towards Lup and headed back her way.   
  
He couldn't pin down her location nearly as well outside of their house as he could in it, but he had a pretty solid idea where to find her.

The querying ping came wrapped with worry and Lup started towards it, tugging Angus with her, “Oh boy, I DON’T like the sound of that...”   
  
“What? What happened?” It really was irritating how Mom and Dad would talk without talking and then forget you couldn’t hear them, sometimes.    
  
Lup turned a corner and growled, seeing a dead end and turned, trying to find which way would get her  _ through _ . Angus’s map was semi helpful, and they backtracked enough for Lup to spot Barry.... alone.    
  
“Okay,  _ what _ the fuck did they say?”

Barry took his glasses off and scrubbed at his face for a moment before putting them back, "The security desk didn't even... they didn't know what I was talking about, Lup. The good news is they're looking for him now too..."   
  
He left the bad news unspoken. "I can try to track him... But I don't know how well it's going to work with all the uh... all the magic going on in here?"

Lup’s ears went from unhappily eased back to dropping into a tight pin,    
“Then  _ who-? _ ”   
  
Angus interrupted, “Could you maybe track  _ my _ magic?” He held up his bracelet, “he’s wearing one of these. I put an alarm on it for emergencies, but it only works if he can touch it.”

Barry's chest felt tight and he looked down at Angus and then at Lup. He was having a very bad thought. If Keats hadn't set off that alarm, that meant he couldn't touch the bracelet. And that meant something was stopping him. Someone had hurt their son and he was  _ furious. _   
  
"I can sure try." His voice was strangely calm, forcibly so. He didn't want to scare Angus, but underneath that, he was a ball of fury.

Angus fumbled with unknotting it until Lup put out a hand to help him, picking at it with her nails until the bracelet came loose and Angus held it out to Barry,    
  
"The beads are all linked to each other, it's a walkie talkie, and the emergency beads connect to our phones' GPS."   
  
Lup blinked, "Where'd you learn THAT one?"   
  
Angus smiled, a little tremulously, "Taako showed me how to put spells on my phone, but I just have to be careful which ones."

Barry ruffled Angus' hair and took the bracelet. "That-a-boy, Ango. Someday, I'm pretty sure we're gonna be reading books full of spells you wrote."   
  
And then he was focusing on the bracelet in his hand. He immediately found the connection, the bond it carried to the other bracelet. "Good news, he's still in the hotel."   
  
Barry's voice was distant and his eyes unfocused, just as they always went when he did this sort of work. He could follow the line easily enough, could sense the other bracelet. What he  _ couldn't _ sense from here was how Keats was. And he didn't like that one bit.

Lucas was pacing and checking Twitter. Well, this one was working slightly better, although that stupid  _ bugbear _ had tossed the remote and someone had  _ found _ it.    
  
Growling, he ran his hands through his hair. It wasn’t supposed to unravel like this. Just some light sabotage, a really fantastic fuck up on their part and Maureen’s panel (and his) would be the stars on the last day.    
  
It wasn’t supposed to get  _ complicated _ .    
  
Keats was still in that room too, and Garry had locked the door. No real way for anyone to connect the two of them when he was found, it was FINE....

Barry grabbed Lup's hand, needing the physical connection to keep him grounded while he focused on tracking their oldest son through the hotel. He was a swirling ball of rage and he needed something to keep him focused so he didn't just destroy the first thing that got in his way.    
  
When he found the door that Keats was behind and tried the knob only to find it was locked? Barry glared at it for a moment before splintered and rained to the floor.    
  
Keats was on the other side of the door alright, head down and tears on his cheeks and still tied to the chair and scared.

Lup was next to him in two strides, the zip ties vanishing in a flash of nasty melted plastic smell, “[HEEeeeey, michen, we’re here, we found you, gods  _ above _ I’m going to tear whoever this was into SHREDS-]”   
  
Slowly she pulled Keats out of the chair, running her hands through his hair, trying to purr comfort over him and unable to through her anger.

Keats threw his arms around Lup, crying into her shirt. He wasn't hurt, not really, nothing more than a few bruises and red spots where he'd tried and failed to break the zip ties through brute strength alone.   
  
"[It was Lucas, Mom. It was  _ Lucas _ and some guy he's got working for him. And he said he was gonna try to grab Angus too. Is Angus okay?]"

“[I’m here,]” Angus wrapped his arms around Keats’ waist and squeezed. “[You were I left behind,  _ sorry _ -]”    
  
Lup hummed, unable to purr, and glanced at Barry over Keats’ head.    
“We should.... we should  _ probably _ talk- talk to security and I guess the police about this, so I don’t go off and roast Lucas into the crisp I’m  _ really _ feeling he should be at this moment.”

Barry's control over his magic had gotten a lot better since the days of the butter knife incident, but right now, the air around him was steadily growing colder and seemed to be taking on a reddish hue. The chairs in the room were rattling and a door further down the hall somewhere suddenly slammed closed.    
  
"I'm gonna kill him, Lup. I'm gonna  _ fucking _ kill him."

Lup breathed steadily into Keats’ hair, hand running soothing patterns into it, “I’m  _ not _ disagreeing, babe, I’m JUST saying  _ now _ we have  _ proof _ of shit. Also, I kinda want to be able to come back to this hotel next year and they won’t like redecorating if you paint him across the walls.”    
  
Her anger moved across their bond and wrapped around his, fierce flames damped down into simmering coals. It would burn longer and be all the more dangerous when stirred up again.

He nodded a little, voice still distant when he spoke. He flickered dangerously for a moment despite his harness and then settled again, “Let’s go find someone to... to talk to then.”   
  
He held a hand out for Angus to take his hand and then thought the better of it. He was cold enough that the air around him was fogging. Probably best if he didn’t touch the living for now.

Lup did most of the talking. It really wasn’t fair to inflict Barry at this point on normal security volunteers and once Keats gave his statement, he looked ready to fold up.    
  
Garry was... unknown. So that was great. And yes they would absolutely fix the door Barry had broken, sure they might have called for help but their  _ boy _ was being detained by persons unknown you see.    
  
It was too long and too frustrating and everyone was apologetic while also being just this side of unhelpful.    
When that was done, Lup thought about doing it again with the official police and shuddered,    
  
“C’mon, we’re going to the room and  _ eating _ and not doing shit for like... like twelve hours.”

By that point, Barry was much more calm. Or at least more  _ alive, _ which was honestly just as good. He put an arm around Keats' shoulders, guiding him back up to the room.    
  
"[Do you think they're gonna arrest Lucas]?" Keats was unusually quiet, voice subdued and ears flicked down.    
  
Barry glanced at Lup. He'd been getting a little better at Elvish, but still not good enough to understand full sentences. He'd caught Lucas' name in there though, and that worried him.

“[They would have to call police, the, for that,]” Angus put in, “[No authority to-]” he stopped and frowned. “They can kick him out though.”    
  
Lup sighed, opening the room door and digging through the piles on the coffee table for a pizza menu, “They might. Especially if that remote they found after the whole thing can be linked back to him. But for now I’m too tired to speculate.”    
  
She flopped on the couch and held out a hand, which Angus promptly pushed under to lay against her side. Keats dropped to sit next to them, curling up next to Lup like a child. He was tugging on his ear, eyes squeezed shut. Barry sat on the edge of the couch and scrubbed at his face. He didn't understand what Lucas thought he could get out of terrorizing them, if that was what he was doing. The man had been trying to get back in Maureen's good graces, last Barry had known. Didn't he realize that hurting Keats would just make Maureen more upset at him. He found the menu Lup was looking for and handed it to her.   
  
"We should uh... we should get some garlic bread." He tried to smile, trying to bring things back to normal. "How's that sound?"   
  
Keats pulled closer to Lup's side. "[I'm not hungry...]"

Lup’s ears flicked up in minor surprise before settling down as she smiled lopsidedly at Barry, still running her fingers through Keats’ hair, “Sounds good.  _ Im _ starving anyway. Ango, you have preferences?”    
  
Angus blinked up at her then Barry, trying to fight off the urge to float outside his body, “Pineapple?”

Barry looked startled at Keats and then grabbed a little notepad to start writing down their order. Keats was never not hungry. It was a fact of the universe. Above and beyond being a teenage boy with a metabolism like a hummingbird, Noelle had explained once that since he and Julia didn’t have magic, both of them ate an increased amount of food to maintain a physical form. He added an extra cheese pizza to the order, figuring (hoping) that Keats would feel up to eating by the time it got here.

Angus was antsy by the time Barry came back from ordering, reaching out a hand for him to join the huddle.    
  
“What do we do if they  _ don’t _ do anything?”    
  
Lup huffed a long sigh, leaning her head back, “ _ Please _ , Angus, please let that be  _ tomorrow’s _ problem....”   
  
He frowned, “but if he tries things tomorrow-“

Barry sat next to Angus, putting an arm around him and Lup. "Security will be keeping an eye. So don't you worry, bud." That and he was going to spread the word through the team and make absolutely sure that they checked over their own equipment after it was set up. He had some ideas to run by Lup, but they could wait for morning.   
  
"Have you looked at the uh... the website for the science museum? I had a look through the space exhibit and there's some really neat stuff. Robot arms you can play with and shit. Sounds like fun, right?"

Angus’s face twisted up, “That’s a  _ distraction _ -“   
  
“ _ Yes _ , because it’s either that or both of us getting ragingly angry again and do something we’ll  _ maybe _ regret later,” there was an uncharacteristic snap to Lup’s voice and Angus shot her a surprised look.

Keats tugged on his ear again, head down, "[Sorry, Mom.]" Then he started to get up. He wasn't sure what he wanted to do. Run, mostly. He wanted to run and not stop running until he was so exhausted that he couldn't think. That was how he'd always solved his problems before, back so long ago. He would go to the track at the high school and just run until he could barely bike home.   
  
He grabbed his sneakers, sitting down to tug them back on. He was deep in thought, trying to come up with a route or remember if the workout room had a treadmill he could use.

Lup’s ears went down and she rubbed her hands over her face, “ugh  _ no _ .... sorry, Ango, that wasn’t- fuckin’ helpful  _ ugh _ ....”   
  
She wanted to scream or chop cords of wood until her muscles ached or burn a swath of blackberry bushes.    
  
None of which were options she had right now, fuck.    
  
She shot Keats a concerned look, flicking her glance at Barry, “where you headed, kiddo?”

"Um..." He consciously forced himself to switch back to English, ears flicked back and vibrating nervously. "For a run."   
  
He finished tugging his shoes on and stood, looking back and forth between them. He was rubbing at his wrists where the red, angry marks still stood out against his pale skin. "I just need to get out of my own head, I guess. It works really well."   
  
It worked really well because when he was done running, he would be too tired to do anything other than sleep.   
  
Barry took a breath and looked at Lup. He was out of his depth now. But then it hit him exactly  _ why _ they were all so upset. This was supposed to be over. All of this. All of this fear and frustration and assault from outside should have died along with Edward and Lucas had brought it back into their lives.   
  
"Can you wait until after dinner? Then uh..." He grinned a little. "How about we  _ all _ get out and go do something else tonight? Just... just get a chance to relax, huh?" He dug around in the random pile of brochures he'd collected from the hotel lobby and held up one for a walking ghost tour of the city. "This one seems nice and ridiculous." He looked at Angus. "I know its a distraction, bud, but sometimes... sometimes people need distractions. Does that make sense?"

Angus huffed out a breath and reached for the brochure, flipping it open to look it over, “ _ O _ kay, I guess....”   
  
Lup sent Barry a grateful look and fondness over their link and stretched until she could get up without feeling like she was creaking,    
  
“Alright, If we’re going out I’m changing into something warmer and clearing this muck off my face.”

“On yeah, definitely. Definitely gonna want jackets all the way around.” Barry stretched and then grinned. “I’ll call for tickets for the tour. It should be fun.” His tone turned teasing and he poked Angus in the arm. “Wanna see some ghosts, kiddo?”   
  
Keats rolled his eyes. He didn’t feel much better, but he could try.

“As long as I only have to share a room with  _ one _ ,” Angus grinned at him and went to find where he left his hat. 

 


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The following contains reaccountings of true historical events some of which are unpleasant due to the fact that people were in fact killed for not being the right ethnicity, color, or gender. Nothing graphic, but ghosts aren't very often happy people.

The sun was getting low in the sky in the winter early dusk as they left the hotel after dinner. Lup inhaled the cold air and let some of her rage out on the exhale. There was too much of it in her and she was borrowing it from Barry and it needed out before she was burned hollow.

 

It was a short subway ride and then a walk to get to the cemetery where the tour started. They were a bit early and a Barry was leaning against the wrought iron fence looking in. "Hey Ango, there's a historic plaque here. Looks like this predates the revolution. Cool, right?"  
  
Keats adjusted his hoodie, trying to make the strings even. He'd refused to leave the hotel without something bulky enough to hide his harness _and_ with Lup carrying not one but two extra batteries. Just in case.  
  
_"Mom,_ Dad's trying to make the spooky tour educational." His tone was mock aggrieved and he was grinning when he looked up.

 

“He was a nerd when I got him, michen, there’s nothing I could do,” Lup stretched her fingers out, bringing heat to the surface of them as they waited.    
  
Angus read the plaque over and glanced up at Barry, “are these  _ real _ ghosts or just people’s eyes playing tricks on them when their minds are susceptible to influence?”

 

"We won't know until we see something, I guess. Or uh... or hear the stories." Barry had also worn a jacket over his harness, not because he cared if anyone saw it, but because he didn't particularly want any of the people on the tour to get curious and touch it. That, and because he didn't want anyone on the tour to maybe  _ also _ be from the conference and start asking questions about why a ghost was on a ghost tour.   
  
Keats sat on the curb, pulling his phone out as he waited. Time to see what Savannah was up to. Oh... great...  _ another _ party.

 

Angus clung to the iron railing and swung back and forth, sending his magic out at things he could see in little pulses. Maybe he could spot something interesting before the tour guide pointed it out,  _ that _ would be a fun game...   
  
Lup leaned into Barry as more people gathered, blinking as her low light vision tried taking over before the sun went down. Having gloves on meant she  _ could _ hold his hand, even if it meant pulling more heat into her extremities.    
  
“Getting out was good- a good plan, babe.”

 

He leaned back against her and kissed her cheek, just the barest contact, “I figured if we all stayed in the room, the boys would uh... we’d wake up to find out they’d chewed the door down or something.”   
  
Keats got up behind Angus, stepping as quietly as he could. And just before he jumped at his brother, Angus’ magic hooked on something in the burial ground, something that felt his age and giggled.

 

Angus yelped in surprise, letting go of the fence and flailing back into Keats’ arms. Looking up at his brother, eyes round, he whispered,    
  
“[There IS one...]”   
  
Gripping his magic again, he tugged a polite greeting and withdrew his hooks, still testing around the area.

 

“[What?]” Keats caught Angus and stared down at him and then out into the burial yard. “[Really?]”   
  
Soon, a Tiefling woman arrived holding a lantern in one hand. “Okay! Everybody here for the tour? If I can just see your tickets then we can head right on in.”

 

Angus pulled his magic all the way inside him and pressed between Lup and Barry, throwing looks over his shoulder at the cemetery. He wasn’t sure he’d liked the giggle, even if it hadn’t been quite malicious.

 

The Tiefling woman wasn't all that old, probably about 24, with bright purple hair tied up in a bun. She held her electric lantern high as she opened the gate to the cemetery. "In we go. Alright, make sure everybody stays on the path and try to stay close and we'll start with a story that's so good it ended up in the newspaper back in the day. Now, back that way is the theater district but two hundred years ago or so, it was the red light district of the city. And a young man was walking up this way after having some fun over there and he was passing through the burial ground, for some reason, and when he stopped to read one of the stones, something tapped him on the shoulder."   
  
As she said that, something grabbed Angus' arm and he could hear the giggling again.   
  
"When the man turned around, thinking there was something trying to get his attention, he saw a little girl with curly red hair vanish right in front of him. He turned to leave back through the gate we just came through only to see her now standing there in the gate. So he did what anyone would do, and  _ ran." _

 

Angus  _ didn’t _ jump and  _ didn’t _ yell, but  _ did _ tug on Barry’s sleeve hard as he turned his head.    
  
“ _ Hello _ , Miss,” he managed in a soft whisper.

 

Barry looked down when Angus spoke, confused. Then he saw the little girl holding Angus by the arm. She grinned at Angus, a gap-toothed smile, her pale face surrounded by red curls.    
  
_ "Wanna play?" _   
  
Barry opened and closed his mouth several times, suddenly thinking maybe this had been a very bad idea.

 

Angus clung tighter to Barry’s sleeve, eyes round. He managed a weak smile, “Sorry, I have to stay with my dad, but thank you....”    
  
She wasn’t letting go of his arm, the smell of cold copper hit his nose, and he gulped.

 

After a moment, she screwed up her face and shoved him hard before vanishing. Keats looked over, catching the table end of that. His eyes were absolutely huge and he grabbed Lup's arm. "Mom, did you see that?"   
  
"If you'll all continue on this way, we're going to go have a look at the underground crypts."

 

Lup looked over at Keats, ears flicking in confusion,    
“See what?”    
  
She was shushed by a human man next to her and spent a moment to flip him off before she noticed Barry’s unnerved expression and Angus’s pale face.    
  
“Did I miss something interesting?”

 

"So, as we come up here, you can see a mound of earth and a line of crypts. These were built by the wealthier members of society as a way to inter their entire families with the same sort of prestige they lived with. There are actually also crypts under our feet right now. And I bet you can see all of these cracks in the sidewalk, right? Well, once, the blacktop gave way and a woman fell through  _ right _ into the tombs."   
  
A few people sounded horrified and quickly stepped away while the young woman guiding the tour seemed amused.    
  
Barry met Lup's eyes and grinned. "Ango made a friend, I think."

 

Lup’s ears swiveled to Angus who smiled shakily, “She wanted to play. I think she’s bored? It’s too dark to um, to go off with her, though.”    
  
“No yeah, super smart move there, lil man, wanna stick closer in the group?”    
  
Angus thought about that as they moved on from the crypts, but shook his head, “I won’t let go of Dad, I’ll be fine.”

 

As they walked along the path beside the burial ground, they turned towards a granite bandstand. The tour guide was still talking, telling a legend from one of the islands in the harbor. She was talking about a hated army officer and how he'd been lured down into the prison under the fortress and bricked into the wall.    
  
"And decades later, the story about be told to a young private who I bet you've all heard of. Any guesses what his name might be?"   
  
Barry was looking around, taking in the sights and the cool peace of the night. Then he blinked as a man passed their group and tipped his top hat with a little knowing smile and a nod.

 

Lup was leaning against Barry’s other side and straightened as the man passed. She glanced around at their companions and decided no one else had spotted him, since there wasn’t an uproar or anyone trying to get a picture.    
  
“Hey so... question.... does one of us radiate something? Or are they just this friendly?”

 

Keats rolled his eyes. "Mom, think about what you just asked and then look at me and Dad again."

 

“It’s a  _ tour _ for  _ ghosts _ , boyo, don’t sass me,” she nudged him playfully before raising her hand and interrupting the tour guide,    
  
“Hey! Yeah, uuuhhhh, quick question, so how often do you get guests telling you they’ve seen any of these, uuuh,  _ inhabitants _ ?”

 

The young woman smiled. "Oh, from time to time. Especially the shadow people. But a lot of times, people see the ghosts and don't even realize that's what they're seeing. Some of them are pretty subtle. Of course, we also used to have one spirit who would appear to people and scream in their faces. If you'll follow along over this way, I'll show you where the old hanging tree used to be. I'll be you can't guess where."   
  
She gestured towards an area with an intersection of paths with a plaque in the ground. "This plaque here says this was the site of the old oak tree. What they don't say is that it was the hanging tree. What they  _ don't _ say is that this isn't where it was. It was actually," She pointed over towards a cheerful playground with a frog theme and brightly color play equipment. "over there."

 

“Dang,” Lup muttered, “so you probably couldn’t set up a survey at the end to check when they’re around more... columns for magic users, maybe what race, ugh and the self-selection that goes into people who pick these tours....” The human man next to them was giving her a dirty look again, which she ignored.    
  
Angus was giving the playground an uneasy look, “Did they purify the ground before building that?”

 

The woman grinned at Angus. "Nope! You've gotta wonder what was going through their minds when they did that, huh?" She set her lantern down and stretched. "So, I mentioned a screaming ghost. There was an Elven woman who was an immigrant from Ireland back in the 1700s and she lived in the area. Now, back then the population was mostly English speaking and human. One day, she got in an argument with the daughter of the household she was working in as a servant and said  _ something _ angrily in Elvish and this young girl assumed she was being cursed. So she ran off to her mother and accused the woman of being a necromancer. During the trial, they ordered her to speak a common prayer because they believed that a necromancer wouldn't be able to invoke the gods. She could say it just fine it Elvish. She could say her prayers forwards and backwards in Elvish or Irish, if they'd asked for that. But they wanted it in English."    
  
Keats rolled his eyes. "[Bet I know where this is going...]"

 

“[Heads, they win, tails, she loses,]” Lup’s ears eased back slightly before going firmly neutral. Angus was still looking at the playground uneasily; in the low light and leftover snow it was sad and abandoned and he didn’t like the idea of someone screaming in his face.

 

“So after she was hanged right over there, for just short of 200 years, she would make her presence known. Every so often, people would see a woman wandering around as though lost and they would approach her. Then she would turn and scream in their faces before vanishing.”   
  
“Relatable, honestly...” muttered Barry. “It works great if you want to uh... to be left alone.”   
  
“At least, until the 80s when the city made her story known and threw a festival in her honor. She hasn’t been seen since.”

 

Angus relaxed minutely, “they  _ still _ should... should purify the ground,” it was muttered low, only for his family to hear, but the man Lup was now thinking of as ‘Mr No Fun Ass Stick’ turned to glare at him anyway. Lup glared back, her ears pinning, until he turned to look at the tour guide.

 

Keats was looking around, noticing the shadows flitting between the trees, “[This place might be more haunted than our house.]”

 

“[That’s because we got rid of any ghosts who don’t pay rent,]” Lup’s ears were twitching and Angus pressed closer to Barry, confident that no matter  _ how _ scary any murderous ghosts were, Barry would be more dangerous.    
  
They passed by the park, walking up towards Beacon Hill while the guide told more stories of killers and horror. They turned towards the State House and she began to tell the story of Mary Dyer, a stubborn woman who had fought for freedom and equality long before the Revolution “And was honored with the creepiest statue I’ve ever seen. You can look at it now and think 'oh, I bet it looks less creepy in the light' and I’ll be the first to tell you that it doesn’t. It’s honestly worse. She also haunts the Common, on the anniversary of the day of her hanging every year. It’s been said that she’s appeared to people to preach the doctrine of her religion and of equality and that on at least one occasion, she was seen by a drunken man and she gave him a lecture for day-drinking that he never forgot.”   
  
Angus didn’t agree that Mary Dyer was  _ scary _ . Sure, the statue was creepy, but he thought she had a kind face.    
  


At least until he turned and she was standing beside him with her arms folded, staring at the statue disapprovingly. He squeaked and the human man turned again,    
  
“Can’t you  _ keep it down? _ Some of us are trying to  _ listen! _ ”

 

Keats turned, glaring at the man. His ears flicked into a neutral position and he stood to his full height. When he spoke, it was clear he was trying to mimic Lup. He was landing more in Edward territory though.   
  
“Can’t you mind your own business? But then, I bet you probably can’t. It must be so hard for you, going through life having to share your opinions with everyone you meet. Just absolutely tragic. And you don’t even have enough control over your tongue to be nice to my little brother when he’s just a scared kid and you’re a grown man. Such an  _ absolute shame.” _

 

The man took a step back, blinking, glancing at Lup who looked  _ highly _ amused and met his look with a steady grin. Seeing no help from that quarter, he turned to Barry with a muttered;    
“Oughta teach that kid respect his elders.”

 

Barry raised an eyebrow. “Personally, I think that uh... that my  _ son _ has the right idea there, buddy. But that’s just me.”

 

Chagrined, eyes flicking over their mixed company, the man retreated back to his companions, muttering something that’s clearly a plea for sympathy.    
  
Lup covered her mouth, trying to keep back her wheezing laughter,    
  
“ _ Elders-! _ ” she gasped and managed to keep her giggles muffled enough for Angus to hear the next bit from the tour guide.

 

Keats giggled, ears flicking to a happier position. "[Should I tell him I'm older than him? Or is that an us secret?]"   
  


“[You’re an elf, how would HE know?]” Lup swallowed the rest of her cackles, and tried to act like she was somewhat paying attention. 

  
The tour guide was leading them down towards a private library, talking about the first Boston Athenaeum, the ghosts seen inside, and the book bound in human skin stored inside. Barry was trying to get a good look inside the windows. "Maybe we should come back here during the day, huh, bud? I bet they've got some real interesting books and the sign says you can buy a day pass."   
  
Angus couldn’t even do more than bounce on his toes to look over the surrounding wall, and wish he had low light vision like Keats,    
  
“ _ Can _ we? Maybe if the ghosts show up we can ask them questions!”

 

"If we've got time. You wanna see the dinosaurs and stuff tomorrow, right? Plus uh... plus I'm  _ hoping _ we can do the lighting show if it doesn't scare your mom too bad." Barry shrugged a little. "But we'll have to see on that."   
  


“Yeah, dinosaurs are better than ghosts,”  Angus pulled away, still reluctant, and ran to catch up with Keats and Lup.   
  


Keats was laughing to himself still, looking around as they continued on down the street. The tour guide was talking about red coat ghosts and taverns and how they were passing a cemetery that wasn't haunted no matter what the  _ other _ tour said.   
  
Lup was pulling further and further back into her coat, radiating heat as she tried to keep her face and ears warm, and Angus leaned against her to warm up briefly as he listened to the tour guide.    
  
“Do you think she believes any of it?”

 

Keats nodded a little. "I think so. And I think she's seeing what we're seeing, even if not all of them are. Watch her eyes."

 

Angus worked harder at watching their guide after that, and sure enough; her eyes tended to flick to the movement under the trees, her lips quirk right before she went into her pre-written patter. It was a  _ good _ act, and Angus took mental notes. Sometimes the best way to hide something was under layers of inviting people to pretend to believe...   
  
Barry walked more slowly, looking around at all of the buildings. This city was haunted by so much of its past, so much more than he could really assimilate, and he could feel all of it. It was awe-inspiring and, in a strange way, seeing the spirits that walked these streets never knowing that time had passed made him feel better about the future. At least he knew he would have a future, at least he was getting to experience it.

  
Lup dropped back from the group, catching at Barry's hand with her gloved one and swinging it, "Feeling among your people?"    
It was a tease, obvious from how her ears were tilted, but the steady fondness she sent him had very little to do with her words.

 

Barry squeezed her hand and smiled at her. "You know, this is gonna sound weird but uh... kinda, yeah. Or at least, feeling better about that whole eternity chilling out in front of me thing. At least I uh... at least I get to  _ experience _ it, you know? Plus I've got you with me, which is pretty damn amazing, if I do say so myself."   
  
He grinned like an idiot and then leaned in to kiss her cheek. It was that motion that reminded him there was something in his pocket, and then that thought that reminded him exactly  _ what _ the small box in his jeans pocket was. But dammit, now wasn't the right time. Not with everything that had happened today. And definitely not on some historic ghost walk. He was a nerd, but he wasn't  _ that _ level of nerd.

 

Lup’s ears went pink and she hip checked him, keeping their fingers tightly laced, “You  _ doof _ , and here I was just gonna say you’re good at the whole ‘dad’ thing...”    
  
The flush on her face felt good against the cold and she did nothing to be rid of it besides press her lips to his temple, eyes twinkling when Keats looked back to see if they were still behind at that moment.    
  
“....I’m glad it’s you. Doin’ this whole... whole gig with. S’pretty awesome having a dance partner good as you.”

 

For an absolutely irrational moment, Barry contemplated doing it anyway. Right here, right now. On the fucking sidewalk next to a cemetery and a bar. Honestly, it would’ve probably been appropriate, all things considered. He paused, started to open his mouth to say something. Then an ambulance raced by, sirens blaring, and someone further down the street laid on their horn, yelling about something. No, it wasn’t the right time after all.    
  
He ducked his head, a smile on his lips. “Yeah, I know what you mean. I never could’ve.... I never even thought about... and here we are. And I think we’re doing pretty alright.”

 

Lup kissed his cheek,  _ loveaffectionfondness _ curling easily along their bond as they caught up with the group. Slinging her free arm around Keats’ shoulders, she grinned down at Angus who had turned to press his face into her coat to warm his nose again.    
  
“I’m thinking after this we find a store and grab the stuff for hot chocolate, who’s with me?”

 

"Can we?" Keats perked up, looking excited. "With marshmallows?"   
  
The tour guide turned them into a building then. "And the last stop on our tour, this is the Omni Parker House. This hotel is home to several resident spirits. The top floors were adding after the initial construction and, interestingly, they are reported to be the most haunted. It's actually the hotel founder, Harvey Parker, who is said to be wandering the halls still checking on his guests. He was, after all, a very hands-on man and very devoted to the comfort of his guests. There's also a mirror on the 2nd floor that reportedly glows blue sometimes during the night and can also show you the image of Charles Dickens practicing the recitation of A Christmas Carol. The hotel has asked us not to bring groups up there any more  _ but," _ she grinned mischievously. "If you happen to just need to go to the bathroom, the public restrooms are upstairs on the 2nd floor to the left and then the right. And so is the mirror. Remember, that's upstairs to the left and then the right."

 

Angus pulled his face out of Lup’s coat and frowned,    
“I thought he lived in  _ London _ , why’d he get stuck  _ here? _ ”   
  
Lup patted his shoulder as the group started to disperse, chattering.    
“Something to ask Noelle, maybe. C’mon, let’s get warm.”    
  
Finding a corner store netted them milk and marshmallows, though Lup walked past the powdered hot chocolate mixes with a sniff and went for the bars of chocolate and a shaker of cinnamon that she checked the date on dubiously before shrugging.    
  
Lactaid and a bottle of kahlua rounded out their purchases, and everyone was feeling much more cheerful as they walked back to the hotel.

 

When they got back to the hotel, Barry tossed his sneakers by the door and grabbed a towel. There was no way he would  _ actually _ warm up without a shower, even with hot chocolate in him. "I won't be long."    
  
Keats flopped on the couch. His phone had been buzzing since the moment they walked into the hotel and he'd gotten back on the wifi. Which was all well and good, until he'd pulled it out and seen the  _ updates _ from the party. He still needed to figure out how to deal with all of  _ that. _

 

Angus followed Lup into the small kitchenette, where there was a tiny electric stove and she found a small pot.    
  
“How come kahlua?”   
  
She grinned, “It’s chocolate alcohol; adds a good kick to the whole thing.”    
  
He tilted his head, considering as she started carefully melting the chocolate, stirring constantly, “Can I try?”    
  
“Sure thing, lil man, but don’t worry if you don’t like it.” She raised her voice, “Hey Keats! Underage drinking or no?”

 

"Yeah, let's definitely fuel the phone-based bad decision making I'm working on with booze... No thanks, Mom." His ears were flicked back as he stared at the phone in his hand. "I'll take regular though..."   
  
He was staring at a group message, one he was ostensibly a part of. Based on the last twenty or so messages, Savannah's friends had forgotten.

 

Angus tasted Lup’s cocoa and made a face that had her laughing, before she handed him two mugs piled high with marshmallows.    
  
Angus walked carefully over to the couch to hand one to Keats before starting to stir his until the marshmallows were melting into the mug. Lup flopped down and sipped hers in satisfaction.    
The high tensions of earlier were  _ gone _ and they could focus on other shit now. Barry was a genius and she loved him.

 

"Hey Mom? What's the most polite way to tell someone to go fuck themself with a rusty spoon?" Keats took a sip of his cocoa and then looked around for a coaster or something. He settled on a napkin as the right place to set his cocoa down. He was staring at his phone still, irritation on his face and his ears flicked to that dangerous neutral position.

 

“No idea, I usually just skip straight to impolite,” Lup’s ears were flicked forward in interest as she watched him. Angus started ferrying goopy melted marshmallow into his mouth and pretended he wasn’t listening intently.

 

"I  _ probably _ shouldn't be that blunt... I'm just sick of this. And I don't know what's so great about  _ Darien _ other than maybe he's got a normal body temperature. I'm this close to just telling Casey that if she thinks he's so great maybe  _ she _ should date him." His voice was tight and frustrated. "And it's not even like I don't trust Savannah, I just... I can't stand her friends! And I don't know why she's still friends with them!"    
  
He was quiet for a moment, trying to place what it was about them he didn't like. Then his ears flicked straight up. "They're like Lydia. A whole pack of Lydias."

 

“‘Wow, that’s a shitty thing to say’,” Angus licked his spoon and set it down on Keats’ napkin. “She’s playing the socially acceptable game. It’s okay if she says mean things as long as she says them in a nice tone.”    
  
Lup grinned and sipped her drink, “where’d you learn  _ that? _ ”   
  
He grinned back, “Agatha Christie! All the little old ladies can say real mean shit as long as they’re polite about it!”

 

"How do I make them stop? Preferably without making Savannah mad at me. Which is the other reason I haven't just told Casey to go suck eggs, by the way. Believe me, I want to. A lot."   
  
On the screen of his phone was a series of messages from Casey talking about the party and just how fun it was and how much fun it looked like Savannah was having with Darien and isn't he just such a great guy? So much better than  _ some people. _ Some  _ more immature guys. _ He clenched his jaw, staring at the phone with irritation.   
  
"I just... I don't know... What if I push and Savannah gets mad at me?"

 

Lup watched him over her mug, ears tilting down,    
“Well, eventually you’re going to get mad enough to go off on her, so it’s better you say something to Savannah  _ now _ . Even if it’s just ‘your friends act shitty to me so I’m going to not hang around them.’ “    
  
She eyed his phone, “- and take yourself out of group chats they’re in, michen.”

 

His ears drooped. “But then they can say all kinds of stuff and I won’t know...”   
  
But he was already trying to figure out how to leave the chat. Then he just handed his phone to Angus for help. A new message popped up just then.   
  
_ Seriously though, Sav. Why do you put up with that weirdo? _

 

Angus scowled, his fingers hovering over the button to leave....    
  
.... and typed out a quick response instead.    
  
_ wow, it takes a special kind of asshole to say that kind of stuff in front of me instead of behind my back _

 

Keats looked over and realized Angus had sent a message instead of leaving the chat, “Angus! MOM! Angus is sending messages as me!”

 

Angus removed Keats from the group chat, trying to look innocent, “You weren’t  _ saying _ anything, just complaining about it!”    
  
Lup’s ears had snapped back and she sat up, putting her mug on the table,    
“ _ Not _ how that works, kiddo, what the fuck did you send?”   
  
He squirmed, “I just told her she had a lot of nerve-“

 

“He called Casey an asshole.”   
Keats looked worried. “And then left the chat. Mom, they’d gonna take that the worst way possible!” He punched Angus in the arm and grabbed his phone back. “You can’t just do things just because you think you know better!”

 

Angus yelped, more in surprise then pain, and rubbed his arm, still scowling hard, “Well  _ you _ can’t just  _ complain _ and hope that things will magically get  _ better _ if you don’t do anything!”    
  
“ _ Angus. _ ”   
  
He sullenly didn’t meet Lup’s eyes even as he turned his head towards her.    
  
“Don’t double down on your fuckups, it’s a bad look. Go text Savannah to tell her it was you  _ before _ she starts in on Keats.”    
  
Shoulders hunched, Angus picked up his phone and went to their shared room, slamming the door.

 

Keats winced when Angus slammed the door and he scooted down to the floor, pulling his knees up to his chest.   
  
"Dammit..."   
  
Barry stepped out of the bathroom then, dressed and warm and a smile on his face. "So, how's that uh...?" He was going to ask about the cocoa and trailed off. Keats was sitting on the floor with angry tears in his eyes, Angus was nowhere to be seen, Lup looked and felt like something had happened.   
  
"Is uh... is everything okay? Did I miss something?"

 

Lup’s head went back with a heavy sigh,    
  
“Yeah, a little bit. C’mon babe, I’ll make you a mug.”    
  
She picked her mug off the table and ruffled Keats’ hair before going to reheat the chocolate and add a refresher to hers.

 

"Can I sleep in here instead tonight? I can sleep on the couch... or just meditate in the corner. I don't mind..."   
  
Barry's eyebrows came together and he went to lean against Lup while she reheated the cocoa. "What happened, babe?"

 

Lup’s mouth tucked in at the corners, “Angus called one of Savannah’s friends an asshole from Keats’ phone.”    
  
Stirring, she leaned back against Barry, looking at Keats, “Yeah, no problem, michen. You want me to grab you an extra blanket?”    


* * *

  
In the room, Angus paced, staring at his phone on the bed, his braids twisting into knots and out of them like snakes. Finally he sat down and opened his text messages, scrolling to Savannah’s name.   
  
- _Hi Savannah, that last message in the group chat wasn’t Keats, it was me. He didn’t know how to leave the chat and gave me his phone_  
  
He paused, knowing he had to say sorry for _something_ , but not wanting to lie.   
  
- _I shouldn’t have sent it under his name_  
  
- _even if-_  
  
No, he deleted that. You didn’t make excuses when you were apologizing.   
  
- _im sorry if you got angry at him_   
  
There.

 

After a few minutes, Angus' phone beeped as a message appeared.   
  
_ \- I'm not mad at him. I was worried. _   
  
Savannah was laying on her bed in her dorm room with her laptop next to her with homework she really should be doing. She was ignoring it though, in favor of her phone and this conversation.    
  
_ \- Why did he want to leave the chat? _

 

- _ because Casey is a two faced bitch _   
  
Angus considered this and deleted it. Miss Lucretia had once told him about reclaimed slurs and he wasn’t sure if that one was okay for him to say.   
  
- _ because Casey keeps making comments about how you can get a better boyfriend and he hates reading them _

 

_ \- Ugh. She's doing the same thing here. She won't shut up about Darien. He's my lab partner! _   
  
Savannah frowned as another message popped up on her phone from Casey. Apparently there was a party tomorrow and Darien's friends had already invited them.  _ Swell. _ She smiled to herself as she realized she was starting to pick up Keats' slang.    
  
_ \- Can you tell him I'm dealing with it? He's not answering my texts :( _

 

- _ i will when he’s not angry with me _   
  
Angus hesitated, hearing Keats’ angry voice yelling about him  _ thinking _ he knew better.    
  
- _...she’s not going to stop until you dump Keats. He’s not ‘normal’ enough for her, and she wants you to be normal _

 

_ \- Has she even met me? The fuck is normal? _   
  
Savannah deleted the message from Casey without responding and looked out the window of her dorm. Her roommate had invited her to a meeting of her gaming club tomorrow night. Actually, had given her a blanket invite to come play any time she wanted. Casey and the others had called them dorks and laughed when Savannah said she was thinking about going. She wasn't sure why she'd ever cared what they thought.   
  
_ \- I'm gonna go tell Casey to take a long walk off a short pier and then see if my roommate will show me how to make a character for her game. Tell Keats to text me, okay? _

 

- _ ok. Have fun with the game _   
  
Angus grinned at his phone, but it faded as he remembered Keats’ tone. Probably not a great thing to try repeating.    
  
He crept to the door and opened it a crack.    
  
“Keats? Savannah says please answer her texts.” He paused, “............m’sorry for- for using your phone.”

 

Keats looked up from where he was still sitting on the floor. He got up and silently walked over, pushing the door the rest of the way open to go into their shared room.   
  
"It's okay... You were probably right, I just..."

 

Angus hunched his shoulders, backing up to his bed as Keats came in, “It’s  _ not _ okay, I put- put words in your mouth, even if it turned out alright after.”

 

"And I shouldn't have hit you just because I was angry." Keats dropped to sit on his own bed. "I fucked up."

 

Angus squirmed and kicked his legs out, not liking the slumped look on his brother’s shoulders, “Can we just be even then?”

 

"Yeah. Yeah... I'm sorry, Angus."   
  
Keats gave him an uncertain look. He didn't like how he'd acted, he didn't like the way Angus kept hunching his shoulders and moving away. He didn't like thinking about how he was being like Edward again.

 

Angus relaxed slightly, getting off the bed to change into his pajamas, “And Savannah said she was gonna tell Casey to take a long walk off a short pier.”

 

Keats’ ears shot straight up and he pulled his phone out. When he saw the notifications, he flopped backward and laughed as he set about answering.


	11. Endorphins and Euphoria

Barry sat next to Lup and took a sip of his cocoa.   
  
“Alright, babe, I feel like that one gig of the pizza guy. What  _ happened?” _

Lup’s ear flicked towards the door and relaxed as she heard Keats laugh. So  _ that _ was alright, “I think Angus got frustrated Keats wasn’t taking his advice and took matters into his own hands. With.... well,  _ those _ results.” 

She leaned into Barry, energy slowing down under her skin as the day slowly ticked away and was gone. Her family was safe safe safe. 

She cracked an eye open, “‘Gif’, babe. ‘Gig’ is the data measurement.”

Barry snorted and lay back on the bed. "Be glad I got in the right  _ genre _ of words, babe. I think doing pretty alright for a dude trying to catch up on uh... on fifty years of language evolution."

Lup grinned and set her mug on the nightstand before turning to lay down next to Barry and press her nose to his shoulder,    
  
“I’m just letting you know before you accidentally set up a third contender for the Great Internet Debate of how to pronounce ‘gif’,” Her ears were tilted in mirth as she looked at him.

He laughed and rolled just enough to put an arm around her. Closing his eyes, he was quiet for a long moment. It was peaceful here in this room with her, with the boys laughing on the other side of the door, the the hum of the city outside surrounding them. It wasn’t the same kind of peaceful as Home under their wards, but it was nice in an entirely different way and Barry wanted to enjoy that.    
  
He pressed a kiss to her temple and smiled at her. “Today turned out pretty... pretty alright. In the end, anyway.”

Lup reached up to run her fingers along Barry’s jaw and trace up his temple, enjoying the feel of his skin under her fingers and the lines of his face.    
  
She got to see that face every day and the thought caused a bloom of warmth under her breastbone.    
Leaning forward, she pressed a soft kiss to the side of his mouth, reaching her magic out to activate the muffle charm as she did so.   
  
“Yeah... yeah it did.”

Barry grinned when he realized she'd activated the muffle charm and caught her mouth for another long, deep kiss. Then he rolled to his back, pulling her with him so she was straddling his lap.

Lup stretched out along him, cupping Barry’s face in her hands and kept kissing him deeply. Brief images from that day kept flicking through her mind; Barry’s face on stage as he gestured through his explanation of how his magic differed from Julia’s poltergeist act, the way his jaw clenched while he kept his harness together through sheer determination, the fury that roiled through her from him before he tore open the door keeping them from Keats, the soft happy expression he had whenever he looked at Angus during the tour-    
  
And  _ now _ , the heavy-lidded and flushed expression he was giving  _ her _ as he dragged his hands up her back and she pulled back to brush her thumb over his mouth.    
  
Gods, she  _ loved _ him with all his moods and expressions and all of it was hershershers _ hers! _   
  
“Love you, gorgeous....”

Barry caught her hand with his and kissed her wrist lightly, “Love you too. More than... more than I have the words for.”   
  
He reached then for the hem of her shirt sliding it up. He was still a bit cool, but with the shower and a hot drink and a warm hotel room his hands on her stomach were almost a normal temperature. His fingers skimmed along the underside of her bra and he grinned, “Can I bend you over the bed tonight, Lup? Would you like that?”

Lup’s pupils flared dark as she pulled herself back and out of her shirt, but kept her voice light, “Oh  _ gosh _ , let me think about that for a minute...”   
  
She tapped a fingernail against her teeth, letting the seconds draw out, “would I.... like to be bent over and railed.... by my beautiful man.... you know, babe? I think I’m in favor of the idea!”

Barry laughed at that and reached to slip her bra off over her head as well. Then he immediately cupped her breasts, teasing her nipples with his thumbs.    
  
"Good, because that sounds like a... like a damn good way to end the day for both of us."

“F- _ fuck _ yeah,” Lup hissed, arching into the touch. Even at nearly warm temperatures, Barry’s hands were colder than an average human’s and he  _ always _ started with her tits to get this reaction.    
  
What an asshole. She loved him.    
  
Bending down, she kissed him slowly, gripping his wrists to move them down to her pants and the drawstring there.

Barry laughed again and caught her in another kiss. "Someone's impatient."   
  
He slid his hands back up, sitting up as he did. Then he slid his hands around to her back and held her there, leaning down to lick a circle around her nipple before popping it in his mouth and sucking on it.

“I’ve been- been  _ very _ patient,” Lup ran her fingers through Barry’s hair, humming as she felt his tongue flick across her nipple.    
  
“I didn’t-  _ hnh _ \- didn’t jump you when we got back after the tour, did I?”

"So  _ very _ patient." He kissed his way to her other breast and did the same there, flicking her nipple with his tongue first in the barest of kitten licks, "Can't uh... can't neglect this one, now can I?"

Oh it was going to be one of  _ those _ nights....the kind where he’d take her apart slowly until she was breathless with begging before he gave her everything she wanted. Lup buried her face in Barry’s hair and breathed through the sparks of pleasure darting through her.    
Two may be able play at that game, but she never quite minded losing this one.    
  
“Un.... un _ fair _ , I’m half naked already and you’re fully dressed, babe.”

"We'll get there." He murmured the words against her skin. "Just gotta be patient for me."   
  
He didn't plan on leaving marks where they would be visible. Normally, he didn't mind but he supposed they should maintain a certain level of professionalism during the conference. Instead, he focused all of his attention on leaving a nice dark bruise on her collarbone where she would know it was there but no one else would.

“I’m  _ not! _ ” she half laughed it, one hand tangling in Barry’s curls, the other tracing down his spine, tugging at his shirt and sending pulses of heat into his muscles.    
“I’m an impatient bitch in the  _ best _ of ti- _ fuck-! _ ”    
  
Her fingers twisted in his shirt and hair as he added more teeth to the bruise.

"Wow, babe, you're uh... you're wound  _ really _ tight today." His tone was teasing, thick and low with lust and love and need all wrapped into one.   
  
He traced the curve of her breast with his fingers and then very slowly slid his hand down to her waist.    
  
"I almost bet I could make you come without even touching you."

Lup stopped breathing for one- two- three heartbeats, a red hot ball of  _ lustwantneed _ flaring across their bond, and she pulled back, exhaling slowly.    
  
“Well now you want to  _ try _ , don’t you?” Her ears were up and pink at the tips, her eyes dark with excitement.

Barry looked at her in surprise and then excitement. "Oh! Well uh... oh, yeah, yeah. That... huh... I mean, I was mostly just teasing but... hmmmm now I gotta figure out how I'm gonna do this."

“Preferably with me being bent over the bed and railed at the end, now you’ve got me all hot and bothered for  _ that _ ....”    
  
Lup leaned forward and brushed their lips together softly,  _ desire _ still pinging along the link.    
“Can’t just talk big with no follow up, Bluejeans ~”

Barry chuckled quietly and ran gentle fingers across her cheek.   
  
"Oh I'm definitely gonna do that. But uh... but I'm curious just how hot and bothered I can get you first. Just how much I can take you apart without hardly doing anything."    
  
He reached to pull her back into his lap, kissing a spot just under her ear.    
  
"Then I'm gonna bend you over the bed but I'm still uh... I'm still not gonna fuck you. I'm gonna eat you out like I've been promising first. How's that sound, babe?"

Lup shuddered hard, breath catching in her throat,   
  
"Sounds-" she swallowed and cleared her throat, "-sounds fuckin' amazing, honestly, gonna- gonna owe you a  _ real _ nice scene next time the boys are out of the house...."

"You  _ do  _ like the sound of that, don't you, Lup?" He ran his fingers through her hair, his lips just barely pressed against her neck as he spoke.    
"I wonder... How good are you muffle charms, babe? How much can you scream before it breaks?"

“ _ Ooof _ , are you insulting my  _ spell _ work, babe?” Lup nuzzled Barry’s temple, grinning, “that- that charm is specifically made with your hands in, in mind and  _ everything _ ....”

"Definitely not insulting. Maybe just... proposing a little  _ science. _ Gotta test it,” He nipped at her ear. "I don't doubt you for a second, but that doesn't mean I don't wanna test it."

“Oh well,  _ THAT’S _ al- alright,” Lup whined softly at the back of her throat at the bite to her ear, her other flicking wildly. There was a wet spot growing at the front of her shorts, and it was taking all her self control not to grind helplessly into Barry’s lap.    
  
She knew perfectly well he could feel her growing desperation and that was part of the game too.....

Barry slid his hand down to her waistband and ran his fingers along her stomach.    
  
"You're so beautiful, Lup."    
  
He strayed light kisses along her neck and shoulders and then nipped lightly at a spot on her neck. He smiled then, and whispered, voice soft.   
  
"How about uh... how about you get stripped the rest of the way and go get everything we're gonna need. Then I'll tell you where I want you next. How's that sound?"

Lup could feel her legs shaking as she nodded, not trusting her voice not to crack, and unfolded herself off Barry’s lap.    
  
She’d not bothered to unpack the Fun Bag, they’d been way too tired the night before. So it required digging through her suitcase.... well, it gave Barry a nice view of her ass.    
Coming back, she held out the bottle, plastic packets, and gloves, hands trembling.

He took them and grinned before catching her hand and kissing her palm. He set them down on the bed and stood, carefully stretching out tired legs and grabbing a pillow.   
  
"Lean against the foot of the bed, babe." He walked around, running a hand down her back. "You're close already, aren't you?"

Lup put her hands on the bedspread, inhaling a quavering breath.    
  
“Y-yeah...you...you’re. You’re good at this, babe.”

He set the pillow down, tore open the dental dam package, and knelt behind her, running his hands up and down her legs.   
  
"How do you uh... maybe feel about changing the rules a little now? You know, since you've got the head start and all. I'm gonna eat you out, but you're not allowed to come. Alright?"

Lup let out a sharp whine, fingers curling into fists,    
  
“ _ Gods _ gods- fuck. Yeah, okay. Okayokayokay, I can- I can do that. I can do that for you, babe.”

Barry smiled and then kissed an older, fading bruise on the inside of her thigh.    
  
"You're so very good, Lup. So good at doing what you're told. I uh... I gotta make sure you get exactly what you deserve."   
  
He traced light kisses up and up and up, then he rested his hands on her ass and pushed her forward, spreading her wide, and rolling the latex over where she wanted him.   
  
"Ready, babe?"

Lup tried to calm her breathing into meditation style, deliberately uncurling her fingers,    
  
“Yeah. Yeah, all panels green, babe.”   
  
She did  _ not _ tense her legs in anticipation and did  _ not _ arch her back while waiting, because she could  _ do _ this godsdammit.

Barry hesitated just a moment longer, trying to build up the anticipation that was already palpable in the room. Then he leaned in and licked around her entrance, hands tight on her ass and squeezing just slightly.

Lup let out a huff of air before catching at herself and consciously inhaling, holding, and exhaling steadily. Her legs were starting tremble again as Barry’s fingers dug into the muscles above her thighs.

He started slow, experimenting with little kitten licks. He wanted to see how she reacted, what kinds of sounds this would draw out of her.

Lup kept her breathing steady until a particularly slow lick had her throat tightening and her breath catch. She let it out in a soft ‘ _ haah-! _ ’ and that was the dam break. She couldn’t keep back the quiet mewling noises as she pushed her forehead into the bedspread, fingers clenching and unclenching.

Barry pulled back just slightly, a little smile on his face, "You make such wonderful sounds, babe. Love hearing them."   
When he leaned back in, he was more insistent. Each drag of his tongue was harder, faster. Every sound she made urged him on. He pulled her towards him, grip tightening. She was intoxicating, driving him out of his mind without even doing anything. He whimpered into her, suddenly all too aware of how his cock was straining against his jeans.

Lup’s hands were fists in the bedspread, her muscles tense with the effort of not touching her leaking clit.    
  
“Glad-  _ hnnh _ \- glad t-to, to hear it, Bear,  _ gods _ yes that again please _ please _ -“    
  
She cut herself off, panting, trying to force her feet to relax out of their cramped curl.

He licked into her, pushing her against the mattress as he reached for the gloves, one side of the latex dam going loose. Neither of them were going to last long, he realized, and he wanted to reward her, wanted to make sure he kept his promises, before they were both exhausted and spent.

Lup’s ear flicked at the sound of gloves snapping and she exhaled a quavering breath, just barely stopping herself from rutting into the mattress, “Finally.... finally reached the end of,  _ fuck _ , end of your patience, babe?”

"That's one way to put it."    
  
He chuckled quietly, grabbing the lube as well. Once his fingers were slicked, he stood straight, leaving her unattended for only a moment before sliding a finger into her.   
  
"More like, if I didn't fuck you soon, I was gonna make a mess of my jeans. All these  _ beautiful _ noises you're making for me, babe. Just drives me insane."

Lup laughed something that sounded more like a sob as Barry worked her open, “Th-thought... thought that was-  _ ahn- _ what  _ you _ were trying to do, do to me-  _ ah fuck-! _ ”    
  
Her back arched and she keened.

He curled his finger, thrusting gently. After a moment, he added a second, thrusting deeper and faster.   
  
"Guess I uh... guess I played myself." He chuckled quietly.

Lup couldn’t help the way her breathless giggle cut off into a moan, and instead pushed amusement along their bond as a break from the desperation and lust she knew she was radiating.    
  
“Cool to- c-cool to know I don’t have to put, put in much work there....”

He added a third finger and kissed her back lightly. "How many do you want tonight, babe? You're taking me so well right now but uh... but it's up to you."

Lup almost demanded he start Now _ nowNOW _ but tamped down on that instinct and took stock of herself.    
  
“...Four. Not, um.... not the most relaxed I’ve ever been, I’ll- I’ll be honest, babe.”

"Yeah, today's been real uh... real crazy. Gotta make sure I get you nice and relaxed."   
  
He rubbed a circle on her hip with his thumb, holding her close to him as he slid a fourth finger in slowly.    
  
"Let me know if it's too much, babe."

Her throat was getting dry and rough from use, and Lup could only manage a whimper as she pushed herself back against Barry’s fingers, affection surging across their link.    
  
“[Shouldnt be allowed so good-]”

"Didn't catch that."   
  
He thrust harder, shaking as he tried to unzip his jeans without leaving her yet. He'd made a serious mistake staying dressed this long and he was absolutely regretting it.

“[Said-]” Lup caught herself and gasped a laugh,    
“-said you’d better hurry, babe, can only- only be good so long....”    
  
She could feel it now, small waves in her belly, she only needed to relax and catch one, if she just-    
She clamped down, hands clenching in the bedcover again. She could wait, she  _ wanted _ to wait, she  _ needed _ to be told first...

Barry pulled back then, giving her ass a playful swat before he quickly stripped down to nothing but his harness and socks. He would have taken the socks off too but he figured the points he'd lose for sexiness, he would gain back later by not having cold feet when they went to bed.   
  
Condom on and cock slicked with lube, he returned to her and guided himself in. His hands were tight on her hips as he built up to their usual rhythm, pulling her back against him with each thrust. Then he reached around with one hand, stroking her clit.   
  
"You were so good, babe. Waiting all this time for me. So  _ fucking _ good. You wanna come for me now, gorgeous?"

The moments while Barry stripped and prepped himself were all that kept Lup from coming in the first moments after he pushed into her.  The feeling of being  _ filled _ , of Barry’s fingers pulling her back hard enough to bruise, his breath coming in tight gasps behind her, had Lup keening into the bed, hands twisting the blanket into knots, gasping for air.    
  
Then Barry was reaching and touching and  _ saying- _   
  
Lup’s vision went white and her back rigid as she came, face pushed into the mattress as far as she could, wailing pleasure until her voice was raw and hoarse. 

Barry hadn't found his edge yet, but he was damn close. With each thrust and drag, with each gasp and moan, he drew ever closer to plunging over into that expanse of pleasure stretched out before him.    
  
"Think-  _ hnnnn _ Think you can.... can manage two tonight, babe?"

“Aw  _ fuck _ no, son,” Lup pushed herself up on trembling forearms to push back against him, ears swiveling to catch Barry’s voice. “You fuckin’.... fuckin’ played yourself there too, babe....” it was easier to giggle and float on the endorphin euphoria now that her throat wasn’t tight with  _ wanting _ . 

“ _ Mmm- _ , seems- seems like you need some help getting there, babe....”

"Real... real close, Lup-“ His thrusts were coming faster now, hips stuttering as he got closer to his climax. He reached up, hands on her breasts as her name turned to a moan on his lips. The tight curl of need and wanting in him blazed, hot against the cold core of him.    
  
"So... so close... please...  _ please, _ Lup..."    
He was begging and he wasn't even sure what he was begging for.

Lup arched her back against him, breath catching as his hands caught her chest. She could feel Barry’s desperation, an echo of hers just moments ago, and it was _delicious_.   
  
She was still floating and brain fogged, not able to do _too_ much from this angle. So she reached along their bond, magical fingers dragging through Barry’s power, tangling at the place where she’d first laid her hooks in him.   
  
She tugged gently, not pulling anything out, just a firm attention grab,   
  
“ _Come_ on then, [beloved], _right_ now-“

Barry gasped, the sound stuttering into a keening moan as he crashed over that edge. His power spread out, filling the room for a moment, and then snapped back into place as he tried to catch his breath. For a moment, he didn't move, couldn't. He wasn't sure his knees would hold, not with the way his legs were shaking. Then he grinned like an absolute idiot and moved to flop on the bed beside her.    
  
"Love you."

Lup turned over, grimacing at the drooling mess by her head, before reaching a hand out to cup Barry’s cheek and match his grin with her own.    
  
“Jesus Holy  _ Christ _ on a cracker, you’re so good. I love you too, Bear.”    
  
Her arm flopped down between them and she rolled the rest of the way to her back,    
“Sidebar; is making blankets  _ not wet _ at all similar to making coffee mugs  _ not broken _ ?”

“Yeah... yeah... absolutely. Lemme remember where my uh... my  _ legs _ are and I’ve totally got you, babe.”   
  
He closed his eyes, laying there for a long moment and just basking. Then he sat up and held his hand over the wet spots, frowning in focus. It took a moment, but slowly the blankets rewound and were left dry. He nodded and then flopped back.

Lup promptly scooted across the gap to sprawl against him, a tired purr starting in her throat as she found him still lukewarm.    
  
“You’re perfect,” Closing her eyes, she drifted happily.

Barry turned to kiss her temple, already following her down into sleep.   
  
"Nah... that's you."

 


	12. Chapter 12

Angus clattered through the mock up of the International Space Station, occasionally turning to make sure his family was still in sight behind him, but mostly focused on pressing his hands against the glass to look out into the fake void behind the windows.    
  
It was a  _ good _ fake void, and he could smell the  steady combination of anchored spells that kept it so real, but they weren’t so powerful from this side that he couldn’t pretend.    
  
Illusion magic was  _ fun _ , maybe he could ask Captain Davenport to teach him some of that next....

 

Keats followed after more slowly, feeling sick as the mock up rotated around them to make them feel as though they were experiencing zero gravity. It was extremely realistic and his stomach felt like it was heaving. Barry was leaning in, trying to look at the instrumentation mock-ups, absolutely fascinated. It was astounding how much it had changed, and how much it hadn't changed. He turned, watching Angus run ahead and laughed. When they'd talked about going to the science museum, this was exactly the kind of day he'd had in mind. It was idyllic, if a bit crowded. They could all relax and just have some fun.

 

Lup brought up the rear, choosing each step carefully, and occasionally closing her eyes to reach her magic down for the stone she knew was under the whole thing. If she focused on Angus’s flitting from one window to another or Barry looking delighted, she could stand to climb another dozen feet.    
  
Reaching for Keats’ hand, she murmured in an undertone,    
  
“[Fun fact; elves are as a species the least well adapted for space travel. So much for all those hoping for generation ships to other planets.]”    
  
Angus shouted excitement as a screen flicked on to show sunrise over the earth from space.

 

Barry walked up behind Angus, putting his hands on Angus' shoulders.   
  
"Want a boost, bud?"   
  
The image on the screen was beautiful and it made his heart soar. It was everything he had ever wanted as a boy growing up reading Jules Verne and watching the early moon shot films. Turning, he smiled at Lup and Keats.   
  
"Come have a look at this."   
  
Keats stumbled forward and grabbed the railing. His entire center of balance was off and he felt abjectly awful. But the sunrise was pretty, he supposed.   
  
"[This is bullshit, Mom.]"

 

“[Yeah, but they’re happy,]” Lup couldn’t translate the waves of delighted excitement rolling off Barry, so she just pushed down her nausea and wrapped an arm around Keats’ waist as Angus scrambled higher up the railing with obvious magical help from Barry.    
  
“Hey babe, we’re gonna go on ahead, alright? Take your time, absolutely.”

 

"Yeah, that's fine. Everything okay?"   
  
He looked uncertain for a moment but turned back to making sure Angus didn't fall as they both looked out at the virtual starscape.    
  
"We'll meet you over by the robots?"

 

“Not super enjoying the faux zero g, that’s all. Robots is good, have fun!”    
  
Angus glanced back and waved, before turning and pointing as the fake globe turned under them,    
  
“You  _ can _ see the Great Wall of China!”    
  
Lup led Keats out of the model, sighing with relief as her feet hit linoleum and directed them to an empty bench,    
“Gonna stick with rocket  _ science _ and  _ theory _ , thanks.”

 

Keats flopped onto the bench and leaned back. He still looked a little green and his ears were flicked back.   
"I'm officially never going in space. Never  _ ever." _

 

Lup closed her eyes and reached down again for the stone in and under the building, gripping it hard until she felt less like she was spinning. There were a few leftover magical signs of other people doing the same, and she smirked.    
  
“Back when they were doing experiments on who adapts best to zero g, there were a bunch of think pieces about how elves are the most  _ magical _ race and  _ clearly _ just couldn’t do well so far away from Mother Earth from whom we receiveth power, et cetera.”   
  
She opened her eyes and looked over at the robot display, the flickering lights catching her attention, “....s’bunch of bullshit that didn’t explain why gnomes and dwarves did so well. Turns out it was the experiments with cats in zero g that ended up partially explaining it. Look up those videos some time, it’s hilarious.”

 

“Then how come I don’t land on my feet when I jump off stuff?”   
Keats was still leaned back, pinching the bridge of his nose as he tried to bring the dizziness and nausea back down.    
  


“Bipedalism’s a bitch, mostly. Also no tails,” Lup cast him a worried look, and drooped in relief when she saw Angus and Barry. Surely the gift store would have motion sickness pills or something....    
  


Barry nudged Angus along, leading him through the exit of the space station. He had a grin on his face and one hand on Angus’ shoulder.   
  
“How’s it make you feel knowing your dad worked on some of this stuff, huh, buddy?”

  
Angus bounced down the ramp, vibrating with excitement,    
  
“ _ That’s _ what you can do with math! I’m going to tell June- did you ever get to see the rockets? Can we  _ make _ one? Can you show me how to do the trajectory?  Can-“    
  


“We absolutely can build a rocket! And I can show you all kinds of uh... of physics and stuff that you need.” He stretched a little and checked his watch. Battery was still good and they had about half an hour before the lightning show. Plenty of time.   
  
“I went to see a launch once. Let’s see... that would’ve been... Ranger 7. It was a probe, so uh... so unmanned. But still pretty cool, right?”   
  


Angus waved at Keats who was still pale, “ _ Keats! _ There were plants grown in space too!”

  
Keats looked up, starting to feel a little better now that the world wasn’t spinning around him.   
  
“Cool. Cool cool. Real cool. Definitely not gonna vomit.”

 

Lup stood and stretched, grinning at Angus, “All I ask is that I get to see anything you blow up.”    
Leaning on Barry’s other side, she tilted an ear towards the gift shop, “Hey look, babe, a chance to expand  _ out _ of your NASA wardrobe.”    
  
And indeed, motion sickness pills right next to the registers.

 

Barry had already started gravitating towards a jacket that was a copy of what the astronauts used to wear that was on a rack next to a whole series of shirts that said 'I need my space'. "Expand  _ out _ of it? I was uh... I was thinking getting uh... more?"   
  
Keats grabbed a package of the motion sickness pills and silently held them out to Lup.

 

“These don’t all just SAY ‘NASA’ on them, though; yeah Ango, just don’t go too nuts please-“    
  
Angus was already shooting to the models. Lup shrugged internally and handed the highly overpriced medication to the cashier.

 

“I mean... I own other stuff...”    
  
Barry was a little sheepish as he picked out one of the t-shirts, holding it up to figure out if he had the right size or not. It was a cheerful purple with white lettering and stars across it.   
  
Keats ended up just staying near Lup, not really getting into the shopping. His ears were drooped and he was still pale. The high elf cashier gave Lup and Keats an apologetic smile.    
  
“I keep telling them they need to put up a sign so us elves know what we’re getting into in that thing.” She looked at Keats then. “Did you try grounding? That usually helps.”   
  
Keats turned bright red and he pulled closer to Lup, mumbling something.

 

Lup slung an arm around him, smiling brightly at the cashier,    
  
“For real though, someone’s going to barf all over those fancy screens. And the stone down there might get up and walk with all that leftover reverb.”    
  
Angus came back, still vibrating with excitement, holding up a puzzle box,    
  
“Look, [Big brother!] It’s a 3D kind of the space station!” Turning to Lup, his expression went fully innocent. “It’s all  _ educational _ , Mom.”    
  
Lup’s ears flared in amusement, “oh, that’s a good one, see if it works on your dad.”

 

Keats lit up a little, looking at the puzzle. "Oh! That looks really fun. Mom, can we?"   
  
Barry walked over, a t-shirt in his hand. "Find something fun?"

 

“And  _ educational _ too, apparently. Anything else, Ango?”    
  
Angus brightened and handed the puzzle to Keats before darting to the shelves of clothes, “I want a shirt too!”    
  
Lup grinned and turned to the cashier, card already out and waving her hand at Barry. The cashier’s face had gone a friendly blank and her ears were at a careful customer service neutral, as her eyes flicked between the four of them, and Lup sighed internally.    
  
The nice thing about a small to moderate sized town was that their unusual group was a common enough sight now that no one really batted an eye anymore.    
  
One would think a large metropolitan area would be  _ better _ .    
  
“[Please add adoption to your vocabulary, sweetheart,]” it was a gamble, but whatever. Made her feel better.    
  
Angus came back with a t-shirt and Lup tossed it with the rest of the stuff to be scanned.

 

Barry set the rest of their finds down on the counter and then gave Lup an odd look.    
  
“I’m gonna take the boys to see that kinetic sculpture. Meet you there?”   
  
He figured whatever had just happened, she would explain later.    
  
The cashier looked uncomfortable and didn’t meet Lup’s eyes as she scanned all of their items and muttered a “Have a nice day, Ma’am.”

 

Lup smiled brightly at her and took a moment outside the shop to breathe and collect herself. Right. Fun family shit. Right.    
  
Catching up with her boys, Lup held out the bags she’d ended up with,    
  
“Not it for carrying these into the lighting show, I didn’t even  _ buy _ anything...”    
  
Angus came around the corner of the statue in time to grab his bag, then continued another lap, following the movement.

 

Barry took the bag with a chuckle. “I’ve got it, babe. Don’t worry about that.”   
  
Keats was standing, watching the balls fall and the wheels turn, listening to the music of the sculpture. Then he turned, looking a little uncertain. “Is it time for the show already?”

 

“We got like.... what, fifteen minutes?” Lup draped herself on Barry and plucked the museum map out of his back pocket to check times.    
  
“Yeah, it’s a little bit of a walk, but we don’t have to hurry that much.”    
  
Angus came around the corner again, his braids swaying quite obviously more than his movement could account for.

 

Barry watched Angus go by, a little frown on his face. Then he reached out just to double check that the boy wasn't doing pattern magic with the kinetic sculpture or something. "Yeah, but we should probably get going because it's standing room only and we wanna make sure the boys get a good view."

 

Angus was indeed following the path of the balls with his magic, and while the pattern was not pulling him in so much, it seemed he didn’t really notice as he started over at the top again.    
  
Lup noticed Barry reaching out and her ears went back, “Gods, I need to let Taako know he’s gotta focus on patterns  _ again _ .”    
Striding over to Angus, she caught one of his braids and tugged.    
  


He blinked up at her, “Is it time to go already?”

 

Barry held out a hand hand to Angus. "Come on, bud. Let's go get a good seat. And don't even think about tapping into the lightning. You keep your magic inside your skin. Do you hear me, Angus?"

 

Angus took his hand, blinking in confusion, “I wasn’t-“ he caught both their looks and scowled, “Yes, sir.”    
He swung his bag, glancing over his shoulder at the kinetic statue, “I don’t even  _ do _ lightning....”    
  
“Keep it that way,” Lup did her best to only sound cheerful and  _ not _ let her tone devolve into a snap. She’d looked up Tesla coil videos for hours, it was  _ baby _ lightning. There wasn’t anything to be afraid of.

 

When they walked into the Hall of Electricity, it was clear that these were  _ not _ normal sized Tesla coils. In fact, there were signs loudly proclaiming them to big among the largest Tesla coils in the world. And there were two of them. There were smaller coils around the room and dozens of things easily in range of those Tesla coils to be struck during the show, including a large cage that looked almost like a bird cage large enough to hold an adult human.   
  
Barry quickly found an open spot on the second of the three floors that made up the room, so they were above the floor and the cage and below the full height of the coils. "How's this?"   
  
Keats had been skeptical but he was starting to look excited as he saw all the people jockeying for places to stand and all the little kids sitting right up against the glass barricades so they could get the best view. Some of the littlest even had their ears covered this long before the show started.

 

Lup’s ears went back at the size of the coils, even as Angus pressed forward into the crowd of kids at the barrier.    
“Looks fantastic, I’m gonna stand against the wall.”    
  
Letting them move forward, Lup faded to the back of the crowd, still able to see, but-   
  
It was  _ silly _ , this was just tamed lightning like the electricity she invited into her home every single day!    
  
But still, some people had to be at the back. And she might as well make room for everyone who was actually excited. Logical really.

 

Barry moved back to stand beside Lup, sending a little wave of reassurance down their bond. He was right here and no matter what, he would never let the lightning get to her.    
  
Keats moved up with Angus, staying right next to him, even if that meant Keats had to kneel so the other kids could see. He wasn’t letting Angus out of his sight. He also figured it would be better this way if he got scared.

 

Lup leaned against Barry, and smiled weakly at him, sending calm she didn't feel but could fake for a bit back at him. The lights started to dim and the audience began clapping, and she spotted Angus bouncing up and down next to Keats.    
  
Lup breathed slowly. This was easy. She could do it.

 

A museum staff member took center stage, microphone in hand and Keats was bouncing, one arm around Angus' shoulders. "This is  _ awesome." _   
  
The half orc woman below began to speak, inviting everyone to the show and making a general warning that there would be loud noises and flashes of light and that the show may not be suitable for young children.   
  
Barry squeezed Lup's hand tighter at that, watching as the woman stepped inside a cage with the controls and began conducting the show.

 

Lup was fine through the explanation of a Van De Graaff generator, antsy through the demonstrations of the half-orc woman in a cage with lightning striking it, and chewing her lip by the time they were getting to musical Tesla coils.    
  
_ Yes _ , it was all  _ very _ fascinating, all these  _ many _ ways to bend electricity into behaving without magic, and the boys were  _ enthralled _ with all of it-   
  
A large arc of lightning hit the edge of the metal cage in a pitched up note and Lup couldn't stand the feeling of her magic swirling along her arms in controlled not panic any longer. Muttering something to Barry, she bolted for the door.

 

On one hand, Barry probably should've stayed with the boys. Most parents would have stayed with their kids, he was pretty sure. But he also knew that Lup wouldn't have left if she was alright. Keats and Angus were enraptured by the show and they weren't going anywhere any time soon. So, he followed Lup out the door.

 

Lup was pacing the hall outside the auditorium muttering a steady stream of “Don’t wig out,  _ don’t _ wig out, don’t  _ wig _ out-“ when Barry found her, arms folded across her chest, hands clamped in her armpits. 

* * *

 

The finale was  _ amazing _ and Angus was practically levitating as they stood and clapped and joined the throng of people heading outside. He didn’t see Mom and Dad, but they were at the back, so it didn’t worry him, as he held onto Keats’ hand and chattered,    
  
“And  _ then _ when she  _ pressed her hand _ against the bars- and did you see how it just- the whole thing! And after with-“

 

Keats laughed. "Yeah, that was amazing. Skin effect, right? That's what she called it?"   
  
He looked around, trying to spot Mom and Dad, and frowned when he didn't see them. "Come on, let's wait for them by the T-Rex. They probably got stuck at the back."

 

Angus went to check his phone and glanced up at the line of people in front of them,    
“Okay but I have to go to the bathroom first.”    
  
The crowds thinned out as they came out again, and neither Lup nor Barry had answered their texts and Angus was getting annoyed.    
  
Stupid old buildings with bad reception-    
  
A heavy hand clamped on his shoulder and he startled, hand shooting into his pocket for his pen automatically.    
  
An orc man in a uniform was frowning down at him, “Excuse me, kid. You’re going to have to come with me.”

 

Keats looked up at the orc man, startled. "We're waiting for our parents. Did... We didn't do anything wrong."   
Looking around again, he tried to spot Mom and Dad. Or anything. "If he's going anywhere, I'm going too."

 

Angus turned to Keats to tell him to text again and froze as Klaarg the bugbear ALSO in a uniform walked up behind Keats and placed a paw on his shoulder.    
  
“Yep, that was kinda the plan,” the orc behind him said and he felt a sharp sting at the base of his neck before everything went dark.

 

Keats turned, ready to take a swing at the bugbear when he felt the same sharp pain at the back of his neck and collapsed.

"Sorry, kid." Klarg picked Keats up and looked at the orc before ducking out one of the emergency doors.

* * *

 

Barry stood with his arms around Lup, resting his head against her shoulder when people began to walk past them leaving the show.   
  
“Babe, it’s over. Ready to go find the kids?”   
  
He ran gentle hands over her back, trying to reassure her, feeling more than a bit guilty for pushing to see this show so much.

 

Lup slowly exhaled, feeling the last of her tension drain out. She bumped her head against Barry’s, sending reassurance after his remorse.    
  
“M’big girl, babe, coulda said no and ducked out before.”    
  
Stretching her hands out above her, she reached for her phone,    
“Yeah okay. Looks like they’re headed for the T-Rex.”    
  
A half hour later, they were NOT by the T-Rex and all the calm Lup had managed to cultivate was out the window.

* * *

 

  
_Angus was walking along one of the empty hotel corridors and almost felt disappointed. Usually he went places he’d never been before but he knew this was the hotel._  
  
 _Turning he heard a familiar voice behind a door and reached out to push it open which it did without a key._  
  
 _Taako’s voice came through loud and clear then._  
  
 _”Yeah we killed it, natch, Brian looked like he was going to swallow his tongue. It was GREAT.”_  
  
 _He went quiet and Angus turned the corner to see him sprawled on the bed talking on his phone his back to the door. His legs kicked slowly in the air as his phone skittered words Angus couldn’t hear clearly._  
  
 _”So fuckin’ glad it’s donzo, though. I’m so TIRED of crappy hotel food and I think Lup is halfway to an aneurysm.  ....and yknow. Miss you a lot too, Bones.”_   
  
_Angus saw Taako’s ears tilt up in obvious happiness as he pushed himself into a sitting position._  
  
 _”Yeah, for sure for sure, next time you can hang on my arm like so much-“_   
  
_He saw Angus and yelped scrambling back up the bed. Angus grimaced and reached for him he needed? He needed Taako he wasn’t clear on why but he was HERE so he needed-_  
  
“ _ANGUS WHAT THE FUCK-?_ ”  
  
 _There was a jolt at the base of his spine and Taako fell back into darkness_.   
  



	13. Chapter 13

Keats woke up in the dark.   
  
Not the dim street lights coming through the windows and the hall light is still on, not the stars overhead and a sliver of moon, not the electronic hum and dozens of little lights to say that the electronics surrounding him were on. No. The  _ dark. _ The actual complete and total lightless dark where even he couldn't see. He tried to move and bumped into something. Almost immediately, his mind supplied him with the answer to the question of what that was. Angus. He grabbed his brother by the shoulders, giving him a little shake.   
  
"Angus. Angus, wake up."

It was a few moments before Angus jolted awake and whimpered. It was  _ dark _ and he’d never been afraid of the dark before but he’d never been in  _ dark _ like this before.    
  
He shoved his hand in his pocket and sighed as he felt his pen.    
  
“I’m.... I'm here [big brother]....”   
  
He clicked his pen and started to draw the circle for light and reached to thread his magic through it-   
  
Nothing happened.    
  
The air was pressing down on his limbs, smelling of- it didn’t smell of  _ anything _ just felt like wet cotton.    
“I- I can’t.... I can’t make a  _ light _ -“ his voice was pitching up in panic.

Keats gulped, ears flicking back.    
  
"So... so that's... that's null magic, right? We can get out of that. We just have to figure out how."   
  
He pulled Angus closer, hugging him tightly. He was terrified and that was the last thing he wanted Angus to know. Not until they had a plan, not until they had a way out of here. Then a new wave of terror shot through him. If they were magic blocked or whatever, would Mom and Dad be able to find them? He wasn't sure.

Angus gripped him and tried to do his meditation breaths. Panic was  _ not _ helpful and he-  _ they _ weren’t helpless! They weren’t tied up for one and he-    
  
He wasn’t going to depend on magic for  _ anything _ anymore. This was  _ ridiculous _ .    
  
“I should- should ask Miss Carey how to pick locks next time i see her,” he muttered into Keats’ shoulder.

Keats nodded a little and smiled. "Yeah."   
  
He looked around, trying to convince his eyes to adjust at least enough that he could see how big this space was. He leaned back and his back hit a wall. Well, there was one answer. "Maybe we can... break down the walls?"

Angus snorted and reached past Keats to touch the wall, leaning out of his lap and scrambling to his feet,   
  
"I'm not, not Molly Hayes, I don't have super strength or anything...."   
  
Running his hand along the wall, Angus took careful steps until he reached a corner.

"Who's Molly Hayes?"   
  
Keats stayed close to Angus, wary and listening for any movement outside of this space. "Let me know if you find a door or something. I might be able to break it..."

"She's a super hero, she's eleven."  The wall was trembling rhythmically under his hand as he moved. Well, good news; there was nothing in the space to trip over. Bad news; it was  _ very small _ .   
  
He came to another corner and the seam of a door, "Here! Here's the door, where's the shit fuckin'  _ handle _ -"

Keats moved up behind Angus, running his hands over the door as well.    
  
"Hinges are on the outside... Handle probably is too. Here, move out of the way and I'll try something... I might be able to..." He pushed on it a little, trying to see if he could get a little bit of give. He wasn't sure, but he could try.

Angus moved back into the corner, hands automatically going to his braids. They barely sent out puffs of scent, but that at least helped calm him down.    
  
Panicking  _ wouldn't help _ .    
  
“Are we stuck in a  _ janitor’s closet _ ?” His voice was incredulous. “What the fuck is Lucas  _ doing? _ ”

"I don't know... I don't think it's a closet though... Unless they took everything out first maybe?"   
  
Keats dropped his shoulder and rammed the door as hard as he could. His shoulder stung and the door didn't even budge, though it made a nice loud noise. He moved back and kicked the door instead, positioning the kick where he was pretty sure the handle was on the other side. It  _ should _ be able to break the lock if not the door. But nothing. It didn't even crack.  _ Nothing. _   
  
"We're gonna be okay. Last time... last time he just wanted me to talk to Mo. He won't hurt us."    
  
Keats wasn't so sure this time.

There was a crackling noise above their heads,   
  
_”Are you awake yet?”_   
  
Angus yelped and jumped to dig his hands into Keats’ shirt, looking uselessly around for the source of the noise.   
  
_”Oh_ FINALLY.”

"Hey, Lucas? Go fuck yourself."   
  
Keats hugged Angus tightly, glaring up towards the source of the noise.   
  
"Because when Mom finds you? You're gonna be so crispy, you're gonna be jealous of charcoal briquettes."

_”Right sure. Anyway, you’ve caused me a LOT of problems, so you need to fix them, got it?”_   
  
Angus gripped Keats tight, incredulity growing,   
  
“WE caused YOU problems?? You _locked us in a closet!!_ ”  
  
 _”Yeah, and you’ll stay there till you take back what you said to the hotel,”_ Lucas’s voice went sulky, “- _they kicked me out the conference for that one.”_

Keats growled low.  _ "Good, _ asshole. It's what you deserve. You tried. to kill.  _ my dad." _   
  
He was trying to figure out why the sound was coming from above. Was there a vent? Was there magic? He needed to get Lucas to talk more, to maybe give up something. He started to open his mouth when a shot of pain went through him and he flickered to raw skeleton for a moment. Panic tore through him and Keats looked at the status watch for his harness. The battery should have been good. They'd swapped him to a fully charged one that morning. It was at 20% and dropping rapidly.

Angus yelped as Keats’ body changed under his arms and back again,    
  
“What the  _ shit? _ ”    
  
_ ”I didn’t mean to and I said I was so- what? What was that?” _   
  
Angus blinked at the glowing status watch, his eyes watering in real light.    
  
“The... the  _ null _ field, Keats....” his eyes widened and he tugged Keats down so he could whisper in his ear, “ _ Take off your clothes! _ You’ll lose them again and... and anything useful in the pockets!”   
  
_ ”What are you saying? Are you listening to me?” _

Keats gulped and nodded, quickly stripping down to his boxers. He was  _ absolutely _ not getting more naked than that but he wasn't losing another pair of jeans this weekend. Or his phone. Or his wallet. The status watch would stay, that was part of the harness.    
  
His head snapped up. "You still running your mouth, Miller? Far as I'm concerned, you can eat my entire ass and  _ fuck off. _ And if you touch my little brother again, I'm gonna kill you."

_ ”You just have to tell the security team you were wrong it was me, I don’t know why you have to be difficult about this-“ _   
  
Angus took Keats’ clothes as he stripped, tilting his head and finally locating where the voice was coming from.    
  
“You shouldn’t double down on your fuck ups, its a bad look.”    
  
Reaching out to take Keats’ hand he tugged him to the wall closest to Lucas’s voice.    
  
“[Give me a lift up]”

Keats nodded and picked Angus up getting him onto his shoulders. Then he looked up again, determined to keep Lucas occupied while Angus worked.   
  
"I'm not telling them nothing but the truth! Which is that you're eating grapes off the wallpaper, Miller. It's too bad you didn't get even a fraction of your mom's brain or you'd have more sense than to try to get out of trouble for kidnapping  _ by kidnapping." _   
  
He took a deep breath. "[I've got you, little brother. But I don't know what's gonna happen if I go spooky again.]"

Lucas’s voice went shrill,  _ ”I’m doing this FOR HER! Do you think anyone would look twice at her crystal project with your stupid ghost harnesses to talk about? Now she’ll actually be LISTENED TO, if you had just let me FINISH-“ _   
  
Angus reached towards the noise, fingers running along the edge of a shelf.    
  
_ There _ , a tiny speaker set into the wall... not an intercom, it was too small for that. He gripped it, fingers testing the edge... it wiggled.

“Go suck eggs! If Mo knew what you were up to, she’d kick your ass herself.”   
  
Keats went tense, feeling the next wave as the battery came closer and closer to failing. It was starting to beep now. 10% or under. Again, he flickered skeletal before his flesh returned.   
  
“Angus, we don’t have a lot of time before this thing turns off the whole way.”

_ ”Before what turns off? What are you-?” _   
  
Lucas’s voice cut off when Angus pulled the speaker as his foot slipped on Keats’ shoulder. He caught himself on the edge of the shelf, wobbling for a moment.    
  
There was  _ light _ behind the speaker and the distant sounds of crowds cheering. A small wire, now yanked out of the back of the speaker, ran from the hand sized hole into another room and to the side outside of Angus’s small range of vision.

Keats ground his teeth. "My harness, you absolute  _ walnut!" _   
  
He braced himself, trying to keep from stumbling. Looking up, he could see the light now. Maybe he could use that to get them out of here. Maybe he could break the wall down before this got worse.

Angus wiggled his hand through the hole, tugging at the wire lightly. He felt something at the end skitter towards him. Pulling his hand back, he began carefully drawing it through the hole until it stopped dragging easily.    
  
Reaching his hand out again, he felt around until his fingers brushed metal. The smell of wet cotton hit his nose and his eyes went wide.    
  
“I think I have the magic nulling thing here!”

"Can.... can you break it?"    
  
Keats was starting to feel sick and he was leaning more and more against the wall. His stomach was alternately between churning and not existing and the flickers were coming faster and faster. He couldn't keep bracing Angus and check the battery status but the beeping was getting more and more insistent.

“If I can GRAB it....” it was hard work keeping his footing as Keats’ shoulders flickered from flesh boy to marine’s jacket over bones. Only Keats’ hands on his shoes and his grip on the shelf had kept him from toppling over so far.    
  
He pushed his arm through the hole up the elbow, trying to get a grip on the metal, or a sense of how big it was.    
  
“Come on, come  _ on _ .... stupid fuggin’.... asshole with his... come  _ on! _ ” his fingers snagged a vent and he pulled, the device moving closer and coming to the edge of a tether.    
  
“Come ON! Fucking [mouse eared whelp of no House!]”

Keats got up on his toes, trying to give Angus more reach even as he fought against his own body. He was hungry, starving even, as the harness fell back on trying to draw from him to keep him corporeal.    
  
"[Mom's gonna wash your mouth out with soap for that one, little brother.]"   
  
His voice was strained and his grip on Angus was starting to weaken.

Angus got a firm grip on the machine and  _ yanked _ feeling the tether break and the feeling of cotton wool pressing on his arms blink out,    
  
“ _ GOT IT! _ ”

His feet slipped and he slammed against the wall, dangling by his elbow and the shelf which creaked. 


	14. Chapter 14

Lup was beginning to think she should have just roasted Lucas Miller back after he nearly killed Barry the first time. Really, it would have saved a LOT of time.   
  
“Okay. Taako. You saw him in your room and THEN what?”

 

Taako was pacing, irritation in every line of his frame. His usual languid, lazy appearance was replaced with a demeanor that could only be described as 'angry cat.' After a moment, he shook his head.  
  
"I don't _know,_ Lup. One second he's there and then _poof._ He didn't even say anything."

 

Lup growled, running her hands through her hair and along her ears to tug them. Barry was sitting on the floor, deep in meditation with one of Angus' dirty shirts in his hands. He was trying to track their son. Trying and failing. There was nothing. _Nothing._ And he didn't want to know what that meant.

 

The museum security had clearly been _relieved_ when the briefest edge of a moved security camera showed the boys being taken out of an emergency exit that hadn’t sounded. It was no longer their problem. The police had been called, informed, informed _again_ about the lack of report filed by the hotel, and now Taako was telling her Angus had astral projected and they _couldn’t find either of them_ .   
  
She was going to flash fry Lucas and scatter his ashes in their compost heap where he would actually contribute something GOOD to the world.   
  
She checked her phone again. No messages from any of the crew.

 

Barry suddenly lurched to his feet, pale and cold. He tossed Angus' shirt back into his laundry bag and turned.  
  
"I got... I got _something._ A flash and then I lost it again. I don't understand. They shouldn't be able to block that spell... Taako, can you-?"   
  
There was a quiet sound and something was shoved under the door of their hotel room. A slip of paper with an address on it.

 

Lup froze, staring at the paper, before wordlessly striding to the door and flinging it open, looking up and down the hall. A door further down the hall closed but that was the only sign of movement. Lup hissed but bent to pick up the paper. Her ears tilted in confusion as she shut the door,   
  
“I think.... I think this is across the street....” She looked at Barry, gnawing her lip, “what’d you get from that flash, babe?”

 

"I... Nearby. I couldn't hammer it down enough to get more than... more than that and..." He scrubbed at his face. "Should we tell the police or just...?"  
  
That flash he'd gotten had come in layered with emotions, just like his magic usually was, and there had been fear there. Fear and angry determination. And he didn't know what that meant. Wasn't sure he wanted to know.   
  
"Fuck it, come on, we're gonna go get our boys back."

 

“Fuck yeah, Barold,” Taako cupped his palms together, brows knitted as he tried calling up the tracking spell he had on one of Angus’s beads again, “let’s go kick this nerd lord’s ass.”   


* * *

  
  
Angus stared up at the light drifting through the hole, carrying crowd noises with it. He could feel his magic again, but it was still hard to push it out of himself into a spell.   
So he’d better have a _good_ one.   
He ran his fingers over the speaker, searching for seams to take it apart, maybe? And sent a worried glance at Keats who was leaning heavily against the wall, flickering almost constantly.   
  
"[I'll be okay. I'm not like Dad. I'll be okay. Promise. Just gonna be spooky... that's all...]" It was hard to tell if he was trying to convince Angus or himself. Either way, it probably wasn't working.

 

Angus scowled, hands clenching on the speaker. _Fuck_ Lucas Miller and hurting his [big brother] _twice_ . And fuck the magic null device that was still pressing on his arms, even if it wasn’t as BAD. Magic was practically all he had!   
  
No, stop it _stop it_ . He was smart and Lup was always telling him he worked hard at being smart which was more important. He just... he just needed to find the other _option_ besides sit and wait for rescue.   
  
“Do you still have your phone?”

 

Keats turned towards Angus and nodded a little. Then he grabbed his jeans off the floor and dug through until he found his phone.  
  
“Yeah, right here. Why? I haven’t been able to get signal the whole time we’ve been here.”He held it out to Angus, glad that Angus couldn’t see him in the darkness.

Angus took it, hand yanking his clarity bead just for the puff of magic it stirred up,   
  
“Yeah but.... if I can get a spell on it....” he inhaled, thinking about the lesson Taako had given him. Magic was just energy, phones had ports to receive energy, it was simple stuff really.   
He went to stand under the hole where the speaker had been, lifting the phone as high as he could, opening the contacts and looking for Taako.   
There wasn’t much a history there, but that was _fine_ , all he needed was the bead Taako gave him for a tracker and for this to work.   
  
It _had_ to work.   
  
He took a breath and _pushed_ .   


* * *

  
  
Taako’s phone vibrated as they walked out of the hotel lobby onto the street and Barry turned at the sound, hope suddenly on his face.   
  
"Taako, was that... Is that...?"   
  
Taako scrambled, pulling his phone out and didn't even bother responding to Barry until he'd actually checked to see if there was a call or a message or anything. What startled him was that it had come from Keats' phone, not Angus'.

 

The text was a series of runes that opened in the app Taako had written himself, placing a yellow dot on a map oriented around the red dot that was Taako’s phone.   
It was in the middle of the coliseum ahead of them. The dot blinked five times before it went out and ‘ _signal lost_ ’ popped up on the screen.

 

Taako grinned. _"That's_ my magic boy! Lup, Barold, we're going to _Battlefest."_   
  
Barry looked at Taako and then at Lup and then pulled his antenna wand out of his back pocket and heading across the street.

 

Lup could feel her power jumping under her skin as they joined the small line. She could already hear the roar of a crowd inside and the air of excitement hit her anxiety and wrapped around her until she was vibrating. She let Barry buy the tickets as she peered inside.   
“It was in the center, right, ‘Ko? So it might be underground....”

 

Taako was nodding, trying once again to get a fix on Angus' location. Instead, his senses skipped over a void in the basement and he frowned, ears flicking back.  
  
"Deffo underground. We're gonna have to figure out how to get down there- Short of leveling the building, _Lup."_

 

“I’m not about causing a stampeding riot, I’m not _that_ kind of asshole,” Lup’s ears were pinning back looking around at the excited crowds, most of them wearing shirts proclaiming their favorite fighter, or signs with things like ‘OFF WITH THEIR HEADS!!’   
  
“Man, why hasn’t Magnus dragged us over here before?” She reaches out automatically for Taako’s hand, letting their combined searching spread out in front of her. “Look for a stairway as a start, maybe?”

 

Barry adjusted his glasses. "Keats has been asking about it... He think he wanted to fight though, not watch. So uh..."  
  
He decided to stop and see if he could find a map or something. These kinds of places almost always had an emergency map and that might just tell him to get downstairs.

 

“And you think Magnus wouldn’t?”  
  
Lup followed Barry, pinging him lightly every couple of moments rather than taking his hand to leave hers free. She was scanning the crowds ahead of them while Taako covered their rear, when he tugged her hand. She turned in time to see Lucas Miller duck out of a doorway that said ‘FIGHTERS ONLY’ into a side hall with a bathroom sign.   
  
Her jaw clenched and she surged forward, only to be held firm by Taako.   
  
“Barold, we have a nerd sighting.”

 

Barry turned at that, scanning the crowd. He didn't see Lucas, but he trusted Lup. His grip on the antenna in his hand tightened and he followed her lead, already starting to weave a shield in case they found trouble. All he had to do was snap the last bit of the spell in place and he could throw it up wherever he needed it to be.

 

Taako raised his hand, sketching a quick circle in the air as he let Lup tug him forward again. Lup's ears were pricked and she looked like a scent hound that had just crossed a fox's trail.   
  
Ducking into the hall brought them to a split, one side leading to the bathrooms and fairly populated, the other to an access doorway that said 'employees only' and was just clicking shut as Lup turned the corner. She growled, reaching a hand out to the handle before Taako yanked her back again,  
  
"It's a _baby_ lock, just give meeee...two seconds."  
  
Barely even that and he had the doorway open, Lup surging forward again and peering down the stairwell beyond.  
  
She could hear footsteps.

 

Barry stayed just behind them, eyes and magic scanning for danger. He was relying more on his magic than his sight, not liking the darkness below and what he could hear and couldn't see. He raised his wand a bit higher, the end glowing brightly with the readied shield.

 

there were three flights of stairs and Lup waited, though it pained her, until Lucas got to the bottom and she heard a door open and shut before clattering down the stairs two at a time. Taako grimaced, following her and bringing his phone out to try pinging Angus's tracking charm again.  
  
Lup reached the bottom and stared out the slit of a window. It was a long, wood paneled hallway with doors on both sides every few feet. Lucas stopped at one and half turned. She ducked down under the window and waved frantically at Taako to stop moving.

 

Barry gritted his teeth, hating every moment that they had to slow down. He lowered his wand again, hoping to keep the light from being seen. He could feel the empty spot now, the place where there was no magic. And then he felt something else. _Angus._ Not strong, not a lot. But clearly and definitely Angus. They were close.

 

Lup's ears were pinned flat and her teeth bared as she heard Lucas's nasally voice call through the door, even if she couldn't quite catch the words-  
  
Actually fuck this.   
  
She slammed her hand on the door handle and swung the door wide, throwing a fireball at Lucas's feet.   
  
**"WHERE THE FUCK YOU PUT MY BOYS, DICKWEED?"**

 

Barry grinned. "Gods, I love that woman."  
  
He moved up next to her, casting his shield to block the exit instead of what he'd been planning. Lup had this under control.   
  
"I uh... I'm gonna recommend that you do what she's saying, bud. Because uh... I don't really feel like telling your mom that you're an idiot _and_ dead."

 

Taako scoffed something that sounded like ‘gross’ as he walked up on Lup’s other side, twirling his wand lazily in his fingers.   
  
Lucas had tripped as he scrambled back from the flames, crab walking into a crouched stance, seeming to fold in on himself,   
  
“I’m sorry! I’m sorry I’m sorry I’m- they’re not HURT I just put them- it wasn’t even ME, the dosages were weighed out perfect, I _swear_ and they-“   
  
Lup’s hand was on fire as she stalked towards him, “We have gone so far past the line where I have any patience for putting up with your shit, I can't even SEE it from here. So give me one, _ONE_ good fuckin’ reason I shouldn’t roast you _right. NOW._ ”

 

 _"Dosages?"_ Barry's voice went low and dangerous. "Did... did you _drug_ our _kids?"_   
  
Rage flared inside of him and he leveled his wand at Lucas. Then he switched his wand to his left hand and shoved Lucas against the nearest wall, holding him there. For a long moment, Barry said nothing, anger building and mind scrambling for words. English abandoned him in that moment and he was left only with the German he'd learned first, so very long ago.   
  
"Du Dummkopf. Du... Du Arschgesicht. Wo sind sie?"

 

Lucas’s eyes flicked from Barry to Lup at his side, her teeth bared and flaming hand held up to her face, and gulped.   
  
“I- I don’t-“   
  
Taako fake coughed and cleared his throat,   
“Barrence, you’re, uh uh, holding him against the fuckin’ door, m’man. Move so ch’boy can open it.”

 

Barry shoved his wand into his pocket and grabbed Lucas with both hands, lifting him and shoving him against a different wall.  
  
"Better, Taako?"   


* * *

  
Keats looked up and pulled further back into the shadows as he heard voices outside. On one hand, he could hear Lucas and he absolutely wanted to punch Lucas Miller. The fancy punches, like he promised. On the other hand, he didn't want anyone but Mom and Dad to see him like this... and he could hear Uncle Taako.   
  
"Angus. Angus, when they let us out... tell Mom I need a battery?"

 

Angus nodded, pressing his hands against the door on the side he could smell Uncle Taako’s capsaicin sharp magic curling around. There was a _click_ and the door swung open, blinding him.   
  
His intention of running out for a hug was severely curtailed as he pressed his hands to his eyes, tears streaming out of the corners,   
  
“Mom Keats needs a battery the null field drained it like an HOUR ago I didn’t pull the plug in time and Lucas wanted him to lie and say he didn’t kidnap him before because he’s an IDIOT and I can’t SEE it was dark in there-“

 

Barry slammed Lucas against the wall harder. "If you hurt _either of them,_ I swear to _fuck,_ I will separate your molecules. Fuck if I know if magic works that way and right now _I don't care."_   
  
The sudden lights didn't bother Keats. It was hard with his vision based solely on magic at this point and he pulled back even farther in the shadows.

 

Lucas was babbling excuses and apologies, none of them making much sense in his terror. Lup refocused on Angus, as Taako traced a sigil on his glasses to darken them until Angus’s eyes adjusted. Angus clung to him and kept explaining how he’d managed to send the spell and he was pretty sure it worked, but-   
  
Lup let him talk himself out, walking into the tiny closet like space, ears unable to go any tighter when she saw Keats huddled in the corner and dug in her pocket for a spare battery.   
  
“[hey michen, come on. I’ll fix that for you.]”

 

Keats turned around, keeping his head down, but letting her get to the battery pack on the harness.   
  
"[I didn't want anyone to see.]"   
  
As she changed out the battery, his flesh reappeared and his ears flicked down. Then he turned and hugged her tightly.

 

She squeezed back, nuzzling his hair and trying to push back her rage enough to purr comfort.  
  
No dice.   
  
Pulling Keats out of the range of the null field, Lup stared at where Barry still had Lucas pinned against the wall and admired the picture he made briefly, sending Barry a flash of heated approval.   
  
Leaning in close to Lucas’s face, Lup smiled her friendliest smile and asked;   
  
“I ask again; give me a reason we shouldn’t smear you across the wall right now?”

 

Barry looked over at Lup and then at the boys.  
  
"Are they alright? Are the boys alright?"   
  
His voice was tight and he was giving off waves of anxiety. All he could think about was the weeks after their final encounter with Edward and Lydia, about how he'd promised the boys it was over and they would have peace, about how it was all supposed to be over now. And thanks to Lucas Miller, it wasn't.

 

Lup tilted her head at Keats who was still shivering against her, then glanced over her shoulder at Angus who was squinting out of his readjusted glasses and grumbling that Taako messed up his prescription.  
  
“They do not seem to have any long term _physical_ harm, no.” She used a tone very like Angus’s when he was being Exact.

 

Barry shoved Lucas harder against the wall, growling. He was looking over at Lup still when Lucas made a desperate bid for escape, reaching and quickly unbuckling the chest strap on Barry's harness. In the moment of confusion as Barry went to fix it, Lucas punched him and ran, making a break through a door the others hadn't known about.  
  
Barry reeled backwards from the punch, more because he was startled than anything else.

 

Lup spun, letting go of Keats and rearing back her hand to shoot a streamer of fire at Lucas's heels before the door closed behind him. There was a yelp as he staggered, but kept going.  
  
Above them, there was a sudden alarmed beeping and the hall sprinklers went off.

 

Barry got the strap buckled again and turned to follow, blood at the corner of his mouth from where Lucas had caught him. Part of him wanted to get the kids out of here and back somewhere safe. The rest of him wanted to find Lucas and make him regret ruining their peace and happiness.   
  
Keats was shaking, but with anger as much as fear and upset. He raced after Lucas, blowing past Barry, and busting through the door Lucas had gone through.

 

Taako grabbed Angus's shoulder and pulled him after Keats,   
"Fuckin' _nice_ , Lulu, do you know how long it took me to straighten my hair?"   
  
"More effort than it's worth, Buttmunch, why the fuck you bother-"   
  
Lup shook her head, flinging droplets of water everywhere as she ground her teeth and followed. She _just_ got her boy back, she was not letting him out of her sight just yet.

 

Keats chased Lucas into a crowd as the audience began to get up, the sprinklers going off up here as well. They were milling around, unsure if this was part of the show since the fire alarms didn't seem to be going off. Someone turned, knocking Keats down without meaning to, and kept going. The boy looked up, ready and willing to fight someone else but saw no apparent threat. He had, however, lost Lucas. He went to grab his phone and realized he didn't have it. It was back in his jeans downstairs. He was in his old combat uniform again, splattered with blood and very much without a way of getting a hold of anyone else.

 

Lup slammed open the upstairs door to the beginnings of chaos. There was a man’s voice on the loudspeaker urging everyone to stay calm and head for the exit signs, people milling about as they tried to decide if they were going to follow these instructions, and no sign of Lucas _or_ Keats.   
  
Taako came up behind her, still grumbling, while she tried to decide whether she could afford to have a meltdown yet or not.   
  
Angus was here, probably not.   
  
“Hey babe? Can you get a bead on Keats?”   
  
Rather than Barry or Taako, it was Angus who reached for his talkie bracelet and held the emergency button for three seconds.

 

Keats heard the insistent alarm and grinned, raising his wrist and tapping the talk button.   
  
"I had him, but I lost him in the crowd. Where are you?"   
  
Then he spotted someone moving faster than the others, faster than the milling crowd, and his ears perked up. Training kicked in and he moved through the crowd easily, employing one of his favorite tricks. Stand straight, shoulders back, head up, and walk with a purpose. People parted before him until he could see Lucas clearly.   
  
"Scratch that. Tell Mom I've got him." And then he broke into a run, vaulting one of the railing and jumping into the arena as he followed Lucas.   
  
"Hey Miller!" Lucas turned and Keats punched him in the jaw. "You _suck."_

 

The movement at the area caught Lup's eye and she spun just in time to see a _gorgeous_ punch by Keats and Lucas went down like a sack of flour.   
  
She whooped over the crowd noises and loudspeaker, " _ENCORE!_ DO IT AGAIN! [That's my _boy!_ ]"

 

Keats grabbed Lucas, wrenching him to his knees and twisting his arm up behind his back. He wasn't entire sure if the man was unconscious or just stunned, but either way, he wasn't taking any chances at this point. He braced himself and leaned in.  
  
"So much as try to move, and I break your shoulder." Then he put just a little bit of pressure to make his point.

 

Lucas wheezed, not quite out, but not really all there either. Lup jumped into the arena, ears high and grinning toothily, "That was _beautiful_ , michen."   
  
A nervous looking human man walked over from his microphone, "Ex-excuse me, you shouldn't be _in_ here, we're evacuating-"   
  
Lup waved a hand, irritated, "Yeah, about that; sorry, the fire alarm was me, it was an accident, this man locked my kids up in your basement."   
  
The man's face went from overly red to a pale pink.

  
Lup turned her toothy smile on him, “So if you would _like_ to call the police for us? That would be _wonderful_.”


	15. Epilogue

Barry pulled up in front of Magnus and Julia's house, admiring it from the outside. It was old, like theirs, but Magnus had done a good job keeping it up and revitalizing it. They could hear the dogs barking from the yard and Valin perked up from where he'd been resting his head on Keats' leg while his tail thumped against Angus. There were already other cars parked along the street and several in the driveway. Barry raised an eyebrow when he saw one van in particular parked just a bit down the street.   
  
"Huh... Didn't know Killian and company were coming." He glanced into the rearview mirror. "Keep Valin in the car til we're parked, alright, boys?"

"Honestly they deserve a 'we survived that weekend' party just as much as the rest of us," Lup flipped the visor up after checking her lipstick and glanced at the rest of the cars. "Hey, if I climb under Krav's car while he's not looking, d'ya think I would find jet thrusters?"  
  
Barry snorted. "Yeah, that they do." He put the car in park and adjusted his glasses before trying to get his curls at least moderately neat.

Angus batted Valin's tail away from his face and handed Keats' his leash, "If we ask Miss Noelle, she might know better how he hides them."

"I bet they've got tech to conceal the jets, Mom. Wouldn't be very black ops if they didn't. Did you check to see if the license plate flips?" Keats was holding Valin tightly, leaning forward to look at Kravitz's car. "Or rocket launchers?"

"I guuuuuesss we probably shouldn't take his car apart in the dark to check...."   
Lup only barely sounded convinced

Barry opened his car door, looking back at Keats. "Savannah finally introduced you to James Bond, huh?"

Angus giggled before running up the walkway to where the door was flung open and Magnus was waving frantically.   
  
"You guys made it!"   
  
"Uh,  _ yeah _ it wasn't like we battled two dozen hellbeasts to get here, Burnsides-" Lup grinned as he hugged Angus.   
  
"Good, 'cause you need to invite me if you do- Hey Barry!"

Barry waved. "Hey Mags." He walked up beside Lup and then moved out of the way as Keats was pulled past them and through the door by Valin. The dog was barking loudly and excitedly as he tore for the yard where the other dogs were.    
  
"Sorry! He- He won't stay and- Valin, no! Valin!"

Magnus laughed and jogged after him, bellowing loud for Johann to  _ sit _ good boy.    
  
Lup waved to Julia who grinned and hugged her, "None of that, hey how was your flight back?"   
  
Lup blew a raspberry, waving her free arm at Merle who was setting his guac down. "Better than the flight out, even WITH the weather delay. At least everyone believed the medical cards this time."   
  
Angus slid up to Captain Davenport as he put the tray of cookies that was Lup's offering on the table,    
"Um, Captain sir? I was wondering about something you mentioned at the conference before everything went to shit, and it was real interesting-"

Barry found someplace to set down the tray of brownies they'd brought, along with a six-pack of his favorite beer. "It was nice getting home too. I uh... I took my harness off and lay on the floor for a while just because I could." He grinned and then found a seat to settle into. "So, how was everybody else's conference? Less uh... less stressful, I hope."

Taako grinned evilly, "All Brian's spider-bots were mysteriously set loose in the middle of his presentation and the whole room had to be shut down and warded for an hour while they gathered them up again. It was really  _ too _ bad....."

Barry snorted. "Did  _ anyone's _ presentation go right? I uh... I'm pretty sure we ripped a hole to the Astral Plane during ours."   
  
Noelle flopped down on the couch with a huge grin on her face. "Fuck yeah, we did! It was  _ The Best!" _

Lup stuck out her tongue at Barry, " _ Ours _ did, and if that  _ mysterious _ setting loose didn't come  _ after _ our slot I would accuse a certain wizard of envious sabotage."   
  
"I was never there, no one saw me, you can't prove anything," Taako flopped across Kravitz who was giving Noelle a pained look.

"I'm glad someone's did. Wish I could've seen it. But uh..." Barry shrugged a little. "Them's the breaks."   
  
Keats reappeared then with a grin on his face and trailed by several dogs, including Valin. He flopped down on the floor and was soon hidden under a pile of dogs.

"Maybe next year, babe....Probably not at that same hotel though, the hotel manager looked like they were going to spontaneously combust when we left."   
  
Davenport looked up from his conversation with Angus to smirk at her, "Why do you  _ think _ the conference changes hotels every few years? This was the third year at that one, we were due."  
  
He tilted his head at Lup, tail twitching in interest, “Did they do anything special for you after the police showed up?”

Lup grinned, showing all her teeth, “ _ Oh boy did they _ , between the vouchers and points and comped stuff, I think we made back our extra money _ and _ we can stay anywhere in the chain for free. ….which’ll come in handy when we have to take the boys to testify at that hearing,  _ ugh _ . Planes.” 

“Wait, so there’s not gonna be a huge trial…?” Killian leaned forward, frowning. “Or is that just the start?” 

“He texted all his instructions to Klaarg and Klaarg saved them,” Angus piped up, munching one of the brownies, a cookie in his other hand. “He submitted them as evidence so he got a lighter sentence, which is  _ good _ because he was  _ nice _ even if he almost accidentally was forced to try to kill dad.” 

Carey groaned, "Okay,  _ enough _ with that talk, I already lived it once. Hey Jules! What sort of tunes your man got here?"

Julia pulled out her phone and fiddle with it for a minute. "We just got a new sound system. Lemme see what playlists he set up...." A few seconds later, a speaker began to play the soundtrack to a movie Magnus was particularly fond of. One of those ones with up beat heroes who were like bipedal golden retrievers with capes.

Taako’s ears flipped up and he squinted before throwing a half eaten cookie that turned into a small snowball at Magnus as he walked in with Johann,    
  
“This is  _ nerd shit _ , Magnus, what the  _ fuck _ is your taste?”    
  
Lup bounced up to get drinks and flicked Taako’s ear as she passed him, “I’m going to make a list of every comic you ever stole off the rack and read them receipts, brosef.”    
  
Pouring herself vodka in one of the fruit juice mixers Magnus had set out, she uncapped one of Barry’s beers and brought it to him in exchange for sitting on his lap as the living room filled up.    
  
It was a  _ good _ sort of de-stressing party, where her friends loudly argued the same arguments they’d had a hundred times, and Taako, Magnus, and Merle all fought for control of the music.    
  
Julia won eventually.

Barry rested his head against Lup’s shoulder, listening to their friends and family talk. They were loud and noisy, boisterous in a way he loved. Keats lay on the floor still in his pile of puppies and Angus was deep in some sort of serious conversation with Davenport. All was right with the world.    
  
As it did in these quiet moments, his mind skipped to the box safely tucked in his pocket waiting for him to find the right time, the right place. Now wasn’t perfect, but when would anything be? Maybe he could talk her into going for a walk later, around the time being around a group this large started to make him nervous.    
  
And eventually, he leaned in, whispering in her ear. “Just a quick walk? Maybe out back? Just need a little air that’s all.” And he was nervous, palms sweaty despite his low body temperature. He didn’t think she would say no. But what if she did?

Lup kissed his temple and went to slide off his lap, stretching as she did so. Just as she turned to set her glass on the coffee table, Carey hopped up on the back of the chair Killian was sitting in, ruff flared out in excitement.    
  
“Okay so like- this is kinda, uuuh, weird, but you all are the people we care about most all in one spot, and that’s  _ so _ goopy and I don’t even care? BuuUUUuuut..... me ‘n Kills got a marriage license last week, and we’re not really looking for a big ass wedding.... maybe a huge party later. But hey, Merle, I’ve got twenty bucks if you wanna try calling out a blessing.”

Merle waved Carey off with a huff laughed. "Grab me a drink and I'll do it for free, but it's gotta be outside."   
  
Barry felt poleaxed. How did this keep happening? He was overjoyed for Carey and Killian, of course. But  _ dammit, _ guys. They needed to stop doing this so he could just ask Lup to marry him already. The others were already congratulating them or complaining about how he would have brought something better for food if he'd known, in Taako's case. He sighed a little internally and leaned against Lup with a muttered "Cancel that walk, I guess."

Lup glanced at him, sending a slightly worried ping down their bond, before turning to grab Killian in a hug as everyone moved outside. Barry sent quiet love in return, reaching for her hand as they took a place to stand and watch with the others.   
  
It was chilly, but the moon was up and the light spilled out of the house in cheerful streams, and Carey and Killian were laughing and clinging to each other in a joy that they hadn’t been very good at hiding and weren’t bothering to anymore.   
  
Merle stood on the porch steps so he could actually be around their shoulder height before he waved his drink beneficently.    
  
“Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today, completely unknown to the rest of us, to celebrate two women who are so in love they couldn’t be bothered with the wedding industry-“

Taako was leaning heavily against Kravitz, crying in that way he did when he was feeling overly dramatic (and a little drunk). It was amazing how he could do it without smudging his makeup and Barry was still trying to decide if it was because his make up was magically sealed or because the tears were fake. He hadn't come to a conclusion yet, but that didn't mean anything.    
  
Keats knelt on the cool earth, arms around Valin as he kept the excitable pup from running at Carey and Killian, or more likely just now, Merle.

“By the power vested in me- which you don’t need, because you already did the damn thing- I ask only that you choose joy and choose each other every day. Go ahead and kiss your wife.”    
  
Lup whooped as Killian lifted Carey bodily off the ground and kissed her, while Carey’s tail wrapped around her in a way that probably would get them thrown out of several bars.    
  
“It’s cold out here, you two owe me that drink when you’re done,” Merle waved good naturedly and turned to stump back into the house.   
  


Barry chuckled quietly and squeezed Lup’s hand. They looked so happy and he was happy for them. And they deserved this.    
  
Julia pushed the door open as she walked back into the house. “Lemme go bust out the champagne. It’s party time.”

It was a  _ good _ party. Lup and Julia finally pushed the boys aside thoroughly and got a dance mix going, Magnus shoving the furniture in the living room to the walls so Carey and Killian could fling each other around in a way that was technically to a beat and could be called dancing.    
  
It was crowded but everyone eventually took a turn (not all at once) and Lup was humming with warmth and happiness and good feeling and a lot of champagne as she draped herself over Barry to a slow dance.    
  
“Should prolly leave soon.... Angus is tapping out...”  
  
She sent out a pulse of heat with her words. They probably would be too tired to do anything about that when they got home, but it was always fun to see Barry flush.

The expected blush colored his cheeks and he slid his hands around to her back, leaning in to kiss her lightly.    
  
"Alright. But one of us is gonna have to extract Keats from the uh... the dogs. I think he's been claimed by the pack."   
  
Keats was laying on the floor in a pile of mostly sleeping dogs, his phone in his hand as he exchanged texts with Savannah and posted pictures of the party on instagram.    
  
_ \- Seriously, next time I'm over, I've gotta show you guys how to play. Last session, we fought a dragon and I was the one to kill it. I'd activated my rage and just bam! Wrecked it. _   
  
He laughed quietly and Valin made a questioning noise. Keats reached over to give the dog a scratch behind the ear.   
  
"Just a funny story."   
  
__ \- Sounds fun. Think you could find a way to make it a detective game? Angus would love that.  
  
Lup unwrapped herself from around Barry and walked to the couch where Angus was curled up between a softly smiling Kravitz and a drooping Taako, one of Taako’s macarons half eaten in his hand.    
  
“Careful, Munch, he’s going to think you LIKE him if you keep this up.”   
  
“Stop trying to blow my cover, Lulu,” Taako briefly patted Angus’s hair as he stirred and looked up at Lup, who kept grinning,    
“Hey lil man, we’re headin’ out. You need your dad to carry you?”    
  
“No... I got it....” Angus stretched and gave Kravjtz and Taako brief hugs before stumbling off the couch.

Barry walked over to the puppy pile, a grin on his face and his hands on his hips.    
  
"Hey kiddo, you in there somewhere?"   
  
Keats sat up and grinned as Valin barked and tried to pull him back down.   
  
"Time to go, Dad?"   
  
"Yeah, your brother's basically asleep already."   
  
Keats got Valin's leash clipped back on him and whistled. The dogs all looked up at him, tongue wagging.    
  
"Come on, Valin. Let's go home."

The drive home was peaceful, the last of the previous snowfall was turning into slush under the tires, and Angus was thoroughly asleep by the time they felt the home wards wash over them. Lup stretched as she opened the door into warmth and heard Tess  _ mrrp _ ing her greetings. As Barry walked past carrying Angus wrapped in the coat Barry technically didn’t need, Lup snagged the coat and kissed his cheek,    
  
“I’ll hang these, babe.”

“Thanks, babe.” Barry toed his shoes off and headed up the stairs to go get Angus into pajamas and tuck him in.    
  
“You know, if he keeps this up, we should just start taking him places in his pajamas already.”

“That counts as ‘encouraging a healthy sleep cycle’ right?”    
  
Lup held a hand out for Keats’ coat as he tumbled past trying not to trip over Valin. Tess gave a perfunctory hiss as she followed Barry upstairs with Angus, but had lately gone into the ‘ignoring his existence’ style of getting along with the dog.    
Lup shut the closet and glanced around the softly lit living room. It almost felt as though the wards were purring happily around them, warm and welcoming.    
  
She grinned, “Always nice to have someone waiting at home....”

Barry stretched as he walked back down the stairs. “Ango’s out cold. He didn’t even wake up when Tess decided he was her bed.”   
  
He took a deep breath, relaxing as he felt the wards surrounding them. Then he dropped onto the couch and smiled up at her. This was perfect, this right here.

“I don’t know if he CAN sleep through the night without her on him anyway,”    
Lup looked down at him, ears flicked up into a happy position. The way Carey and Killian had looked at each other tonight had been wonderful; it was always lovely when people found  _ their person _ so perfectly.    
  
She liked knowing she’d found hers, however strangely the path to get there.    
  
“Full disclosure; if I sit there with you I will fall asleep and we probably won’t head up to the room for hours.”

"I can always carry you to bed too, you know." he teased lightly, holding his hand out. "I don't mind."   
  
He closed his eyes, letting his magic run along the wards for a long moment. He could feel each person who had contributed to the wards there, and so many more. Generations going back as the wards were strengthened by each and every day they were there and the land claimed them just a little bit more.

“Oh well if you’re  _ offering- _ ” Lup hopped over the arm of the couch and curled in his lap, letting her magic tangle with his as she wrapped around him.    
  
For a moment they were spread out and Aware of everything under the wards; every hibernating heartbeat, every slow movement of sap that dripped through the trees, and the slow, steady pulse of the turning earth.    
  
It lasted less than a millisecond and then she was just Lup; curled around her very good and perfect boyfriend, Barry, on a quiet February night, not sure if that had happened or what it was if it had. But whichever it was didn’t seem to require anything else from her, so she tucked her head against Barry’s shoulder and purred.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lup, Barry, and the boys will be back in Incorporeal Wedding Bells!


End file.
